


Sweet Child of Mine

by orphan_account



Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, M/M, Mpreg, Teacher-Student Relationship, underage relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-29
Updated: 2014-07-05
Packaged: 2018-01-06 16:25:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 27
Words: 80,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1108994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'The proof that everything had changed was sitting on the top of his dresser disguised as an innocent plastic, blue and white, stick with two, ugly, blue lines showing him what he’d wished wasn’t true and in case Blaine needed any more proof the constant nausea he fought all the time certainly overwhelmed him.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! I've been muddling this together for a while now. The first twelve chapters are already written so will be posted on a weekly basis (probably on Sundays tbh) to give me a chance to finish it all!
> 
> Warnings: It WILL feature (past) Blaine/Sebastian but, as always, Klaine is endgame. Blaine IS underage in this. He is seventeen. There will be relations of a... naked nature between a teacher and a student. There WILL be bp!Blaine and, obviously, mpreg!Blaine. Also a few, littered, discussions of terminations and adoption. If any of this bothers you; pleeeeeease do not read! It'll save everyone a lot of hassle.
> 
> BUT, if you are planning to continue, please, do enjoy :)

Blaine Anderson stared at himself in his mirror; it was the same face he had seen every morning since he was tall enough to be able to tip-toe and see himself in it but Blaine didn’t feel like it was the same person staring back at him. Yesterday he’d been able to smile at his reflection and he’d been able to pretend, been able to fool himself that what he, now, knew wasn’t real. Today though, he wasn’t able to pretend any longer. The proof that everything had changed was sitting on the top of his dresser disguised as an innocent plastic, blue and white, stick with two, ugly, blue lines showing him what he’d wished wasn’t true and in case Blaine needed any more proof the constant nausea he fought all the time certainly overwhelmed him.

 

He rushed to the toilet in the bathroom across the hall from his bedroom and leant over the toilet, emptying the contents of his lunch into the water below. He stood up and wiped his mouth with some tissue, threw it down the toilet and flushed. He considered brushing his teeth again but the last time he did that it hadn’t sat too well with baby so he just grabbed a few mints and put three into his mouth, at once, hoping that baby wouldn’t have too many objections to them. Blaine fought back more tears as he made his way back to his bedroom.

 

 _Oh this awful. God, what am I going to do? Coop won’t be back until Wednesday… Maybe Tina’s home. Oh, baby. Who are we going to tell?_ In reality Blaine didn’t want to tell anyone, not even Sebastian and it was just as much his as it was Blaine’s. For the first time in almost three years Blaine wanted his mom. He wanted to be wrapped up in a perfumed filled, once comforting, cuddle. This time Blaine did let the tears fall. He wouldn’t be cuddling his mom and there was no way Cooper was going to be happy about this in the slightest

 

Blaine had some serious thinking to do.

  

* * *

 

 

The next few days passed Blaine by in a blur, they all seemed to consist of him waking up bleary-eyed, nauseous, and his bladder feeling like it was going to burst, getting dressed, throwing up and peeing, going to school, cue more vomit and bathroom breaks plus falling asleep in pretty much every class, including his favourites, arguing with Sebastian over his constant mood swings and not wanting Sebastian to touch him every second they were together and just… thinking. He was constantly thinking.

 

Blaine knew he didn’t want to… abort the baby. He didn’t think he could live with himself if he got rid of his own flesh and blood, didn’t see how that would make him any different from his own parents. The decision that kept Blaine awake and confused was that he didn’t know if he could keep this baby or if the best thing to do would be to give it up for adoption and just try and move forward with his own life. Male pregnancies were becoming more and more common in societies. It’s not like every man was announcing he was having a baby but the statistics were raising with each passing year so it wasn’t like it would be strange for him to go to an adoption agency, as a man, and asking for help.

 

Blaine found himself addressing his inner thoughts one more out loud, in his bathroom, to his stomach and as he passed a palm over his warm, and slightly bloated, belly he knew he couldn’t give his baby up. He would feel just as guilty if there was another child in the world wondering why they were unwanted and unloved. He knew he wouldn’t be able to give the baby the best start in life and maybe they would both struggle for a bit but they would have each other as well as Coop and Sebastian. He knew the baby wasn’t big enough to give him the belly he was sporting at the moment and that it was probably gas but he couldn’t help but stroke along the softness and smile.

 

_Okay, two decisions made. Now what, baby?_

               

* * *

 

 

Blaine sat in his English class the following day listening to his teacher recite poetry to the class. Normally Blaine didn’t find it difficult to pay attention at all in any classes, especially not English, even when his teacher was dissecting sentences and reading one hundred year old poetry that would send any one off the edge of sanity Blaine found himself unable to tear his eyes away. Mr Hummel was, hands down, the most attractive man Blaine had ever seen.  He had a melodic voice that just allowed you to float away. When he had started at the school late last year everyone had noticed how attractive and kind the man was, especially Sebastian. He had even moaned the teacher’s name when he and Blaine were on his bed kissing one evening but Blaine couldn’t bring himself to be angry at his boyfriend, the amount of attractive men in Ohio was very limited so being a gay teen you kind of held on to what you could. But today Blaine wasn’t able to bask in Mr Hummel’s lesson, wasn’t able to think of what it would be like if he were older or his teacher was younger because, like every other day that week, Blaine had fallen asleep.

 

Kurt watched him, beginning to get very worried about the teen currently with his head down on his desk at the back of the room. He was usually very attentive and contributed his opinions very eloquently during lessons. The boy had been very shy at the beginning of the year but after a few well directed questions in a couple of classes he had been able to bring Blaine out of his shell and Kurt began to enjoy calling on Blaine and hearing what he had to say about his lesson plan that day but the past week or so Blaine had been very quiet, a lot quieter than he had even been at the beginning of the year, he was looking withdrawn and tired and Kurt was concerned.

 

Kurt flicked his eyes around the classroom and realised that no-one had noticed that Blaine had fallen asleep, resting his head on his arms, not even his smug faced, slightly rude and abrupt, boyfriend Sebastian Smythe. Kurt decided that it was necessary to embarrass the boy but he was determined to find out what was wrong with him before he allowed him to go home that day. Kurt went back to reciting poetry to his class and asking them for their interpretations of each verse.

After he had let his class out he went over and crouched down next to Blaine’s chair, gently placing a hand on his cardigan covered shoulder and shaking him awake. “Mr Anderson? Blaine? C’mon, wake up. Time to go.”

 

It took a few minutes of soft coaxing but eventually a very groggy Blaine opened his eyes and graced Kurt with a sleepy smile as he rubbed the side of his face on the arm he had fallen asleep on, still not quite awake enough to realise he was still in lesson.

 

“Blaine, you need to wake up.” Kurt rubbed a hand across the top of Blaine’s back trying to bring him back to the room. He looked down at the half-slumbering boy as Blaine looked up at his teacher and smile dreamily at him again.

 

For a moment Kurt was struck by how simply adorable Blaine looked but he knew much better than to allow that thought to continue on its path and internally shook himself, _Student, Kurt, trouble lies that way. Leave it alone._

 

Blaine shifted in his chair, trying once more to get comfortable so he could fall back asleep. “Just a lil longer, ‘kay?”

 

“No, no, Blaine. You need to wake up.” Kurt continued to rub Blaine’s back, not realising that his touch was actually assisting Blaine in his want to sleep longer, and began to get worried about how long it was taking to wake up the boy.

 

“Just wanna sleep a little bit. Such a nice voice. Talk to me?” Blaine was waking up a little more at that point but he really wanted to stay asleep, he’d fallen asleep to the soothing tones of Mr Hummel’s voice and this had caused all kinds of lovely, short lived, dreams.

“You _need_ to get up Blaine.” His voice was _so_ nice and he was _so_ close. Blaine could smell his aftershave and his cologne and… _Oh shit._ Blaine’s eyes flew open and a hand covered his mouth. He waved one hand in front of Mr Hummel, trying to shoo him out of the way, and scrambled out of his chair. Blaine worried he wasn’t going to make it and he didn’t have time to think about the stunned look that had been left on Mr Hummel’s face. Blaine barely made it into the girls bathroom, unfortunately it had been the closest one to his classroom, before violently throwing up.

 

Kurt got to his feet slowly, his mind trying to process, and slightly deny, what he had just witnessed. He had never seen a boy, or man, react that violently after just waking up. Blaine had almost thrown up in his lap. He made his way out of the classroom and waited patiently outside the bathroom where he could hear the sound of a retching teenager. Kurt had to admit the evidence, it looked like Mr Anderson had a potentially, very, large problem.

 

* * *

 

Blaine didn’t want to leave the floor of the girls bathroom. He didn’t want to have to face his teachers questions when he didn’t really know how to answer any of them. _Maybe we can pretend, baby._ A quick check in the small mirrors attached to the walls above the sink made Blaine realised this just wasn’t an option, he felt like he looked. Crappy with a massive side order of queasy. Blaine put on a brave face and headed for the door. Mr Hummel was leaning against the wall of lockers opposite the doorway, just like Blaine assumed he would be. Without a word between the two of them Mr Hummel held out his hand and Blaine looked at him, blankly, until he realised that he was holding a pack of mints in his palm. Blaine smiled gratefully at the older man and thanked him. With no more words between the two of them he led Blaine back into the classroom.

 

“I’m not going to make you tell me anything you don’t want to, Blaine, but if you do want to talk I’m here for you any time.”

 

“Yeah…” Blaine shyly ducked his head and gathered up his books left on his table. He turned to leave and looked up at his teacher through his dark lashes. “Thank you Mr Hummel.”

 

Kurt took a deep breath and put his hands on his desk before speaking. “I mean it, Blaine, and I promise not to say a word to anyone.”

 

But Blaine was already gone.

 

* * *

 

Instead of going to his final class of the day, Blaine left and went home. He couldn’t face any more of his awful day. Getting found out by his teacher was not part of his plan and he definitely didn’t think Mr Hummel would be the first person that would know. He hadn’t even told Sebastian. Or Tina – and they were best friends – or, shit, Cooper. _God, how am I going to tell Coop?_ Lost in his own thoughts Blaine didn’t even realise he had gotten home until his feet hit the front steps. Still in a daze he put his satchel down on the dining room table and sat in the chair closest to the door before, promptly, bursting into tears and crying into the palms of his hands.

 

Blaine felt like he was in a little bubble all by himself but he was quickly startled out of it by a hand clapping his shoulder from behind.

 

“Squirt, what’s up?”

 

Blaine turned to find his older brother standing there, concerned eyes meeting Blaine’s weepy ones and Blaine crumpled into the side of Cooper as he felt his brother pulling him closer, running his hand over Blaine’s gelled hair, breaking some of it free of its confines. Blaine sniffled and sobbed into Cooper’s shirt “Oh, Coop. I’ve missed you.”

 

Cooper managed to smile down at the top of his younger brother’s head. It had been them against the word for the past few years. “Blainey, I know I’m too amazing to be away from for long period of time but there’s no way I caused these water works. What’s wrong?”

 

“I’m pregnant, Coop.”

 

Cooper’s body froze, hand at the base of Blaine’s neck and listened to his brother’s heartbroken sobs. He could help but be flood with disappointment and he _knew_ that Smythe kid was no good. His little chipmunk face told Cooper that the first time he met him. Blaine’s cries broke through Cooper’s thoughts and whatever else might be going on, Blaine was his to look after and he needed hugging and comforting more than he needed a lecture right now. So Cooper rocked his brother back and forth murmuring nonsense and endearments to calm him down

 

He could wait until later to start yelling.

 

* * *

 

 

“Okay, okay. Stop howling. Stupid dogs. Why did I agree to this? You’re like toddlers.” Kurt grabbed the two leashes from their resting place on his coat hook by his front door. “C’mon, Puck. Over here.” Kurt untangled the second leash from the first, stepping over his bulldog and whistling through his house for Bree, his floppy ear basset hound that he had inherited from his brother. Once both dogs were safely in their collars and leashes Kurt headed out the door.

 

He took his dogs out on their usual walk and mere minutes into their nightly ritual he found his mind roving back over his day. It been pretty basic and uneventful, aside from those few minutes with poor Blaine Anderson. Such a young kid. Only seventeen and pregnant. He’d seen on the news a few weeks ago about a gay couple in New York that had ended up having triplets after one of them found out he had the male carrier gene. He knew it wasn’t all that rare but he didn’t expect to be faced with a problem like poor Blaine’s in his classroom. Kurt continued to push all thoughts of how adorable Blaine looked when he woke out of his mind and just focussed on the face that the teenager was pregnant. He had meant it earlier when he said that Blaine could come to him. He would keep everything a secret and give Blaine a confident that wouldn’t judge him – which Kurt had no doubt would be a permanent feature in Blaine’s future.

 

He really did hope Blaine was okay.


	2. Chapter Two

Blaine couldn't have been further from okay if he was in another universe. Cooper had given him exactly twenty seven hours and forty three minutes before he launched into lectures and consequences and what would people think of the great Cooper Anderson if he had to miss his master classes and evening teachings because he had to take his baby  _brother_  to all 'those natal classes, you know Blainey, post, pre, I'm sure there's one I'm missing…'

Cooper had started the evening with a very calm 'take a chair, Squirt, we need to talk this out' and everything had just plummeted downward from there. Cooper didn't want a conversation with Blaine; he wanted Blaine to listen to  _him_. Blaine sat there in silence for almost an hour whilst Cooper listed everything that was wrong with the situation and how nothing was going to be the same again, for which Anderson brother Blaine wasn't sure, and after a while all Blaine heard was Cooper saying, in five different ways, 'what did I do to deserve  _this!?_ '

Cooper had been there for Blaine when he needed him, when his parents didn't want him anymore, couldn't deal with him and 'the way he was' and Blaine had let it slip from his memory that Cooper was a selfish person. He might not always mean it but if a situation arose that was unexpected or new they always concentrated on how it affected Cooper and then they either touched on everyone else or just stayed silent and hope everything would fall in to place around them.

Cooper didn't offer Blaine any sympathy, nope; he had apparently done that all the previous day. There was just a  _lot_  of finger pointing and Cooper's booming voice and when Blaine had begun to cry and not offer any other answers Cooper just got more frustrated, sat on the sofa with his head in his hands and asked Blaine, quietly, to just go into his room and stay there for a while.

Blaine went toward his room and stood by the open door, wiping the tears from his face, he had cried in their home enough. He closed the door, gently, and slipped out of the back door to their home. He had gotten used to seeing that door as an escape when Cooper had been fighting for him, for them, a few years back and his parents were always calling and sending letters and there always seemed to be a man in a suit in their dining room. Blaine decided that he would just go for a walk tonight, just aimlessly, try and find some kind of answers in the dark night.

He kicked a stone across the street and wondered what it would be like going back to school tomorrow. He had missed today, just needing to curl up, be alone for a while and wanting to be there when Cooper got home from his day classes at the community college. Blaine sighed when he remembered Monday, falling asleep in Mr Hummel's class and then practically vomiting on his, ridiculously tight, pants.  _I bet that would have gotten me a few more days off school though…_

Blaine moved through the empty street before coming to a stop outside the Lima Bean. He pouted a little when he realised his days of medium drips would be gone for a while. He went inside and ordered a decaf tea and a soft cookie. He had learnt today that anything doughy actually stopped his nausea for a while so he was eternally thankful when he saw the cookies sitting in the cabinet. He took a seat outside the shop, not wanting to get in the way of the staff cleaning up before closing and, to enjoy the fresh air.

 _Oh baby, how are we going to tell Sebastian?_  Blaine looked down at his stomach, as if expecting a little answer; he remained silent listening to random snippets of conversations as people passed the shop.  _Hey, Baz. Remember we were going to have a weekend alone, mind a third joining?_  Urgh, no. That wasn't going to work.  _Sebastian, we need to talk._  No, no. That sounded too much like a parent lecturing their child about breaking curfew.  _Seb, you lived in Paris for a while. Can you remember what 'enceinte' means?_  Shit.  _Dude! I'm knocked up. Preggo teen!_

Blaine was unaware he'd been mumbling to himself, clutching his hot tea between two hands, shaking his head so he was startled to find that he had an audience.

 

* * *

 

"Mr Anderson? It's a bit late for you to be out isn't it?" Blaine looked up from his hands to see Mr Hummel standing in front of him, wearing a puzzled look. Mr Hummel always dressed so crisply, layer upon layer hair carefully styled. Whoever this man was, he didn't look like Mr Hummel at all. He had messy, coiffed, hair and a short sleeved, plain, t-shirt with tight denim, faded, jeans.

Blaine continued to stare up at him, mind drawing a blank, for almost seven months he'd thought this man was angelic and perfect and now he was discovering he was even more attractive after dark than he was at school, on a day to day basis. Blaine could feel his heart thumping away inside his chest. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Mr Hummel's gaze.

"Mr Hummel?"

"Yes?"

"Oh, um…"  _Talk. Blaine, just talk! Why is he so darn attractive, why couldn't he look more like a troll!?_

"Why are you out this late?" Kurt hadn't missed the low slope of the young boy's shoulder as he seemed to be talking to his drink. He hadn't thought twice before calling out to him but after he looked up Kurt saw his reddened eyes and realised he had been crying as well and it tore at Kurt's heart.

"I, um, came out for a walk. I argued a little with Coop- er, my brother. So I just, y'know. Felt like not being… there." Blaine picked his feet up from the floor in front of him and crossed his legs on his chair, almost trying to make himself smaller.

Kurt tugged on the leashes he held to make the dogs sit by Blaine's table. "Did you want to talk about it?"

"Not much to say. I think my brother's regretting taking me on and that I'm a screw up." Blaine refused to look back up at him, choosing instead to play with the hem of his pants by his ankles.

"You aren't a screw up, Blaine; you're smart, funny and cute. You'll do well in College and make him proud. Don't think any less of yourself."

"Mr Hummel… I'm," Blaine hesitated and took a deep breath before saying, "I'm not going to college. Not after graduation."

Kurt sat down, suddenly, on the chair opposite Blaine, both dogs following his path until they were lying together almost under the table, "Why not?"

"I'm pregnant."  _There. That makes two people I've told now._  "And I'm keeping the baby."

It wasn't like Kurt didn't have his suspicions yesterday, he hadn't grown up under a rock and he had a lot of gay friends in New York that had ended up in the same boat. "Is that why you and your brother…?"

"Why we were arguing, yes" Blaine sighed, fingers returning to his hem. "Coop… He likes controlling things, situations, and people. He doesn't quite understand that this is my decision at the end of it all."

"It is your decision, Blaine, but you're only seventeen. He's probably only trying to help."

"I'll be eighteen in January." Blaine mumbled defensively.

"Right. So, it's November now. How far along are you?"

Blaine flushed, suddenly embarrassed to be talking about this with his teacher of all people.

"About eight weeks. That's what the doctor said. Coop made me go this morning if I wasn't going to go to school."

Kurt reached across the table to touch Blaine's arm, noting how uncomfortable the boy appeared to be. "Hey, I said this stays between us and I promised it. I won't be telling anyone else."

"Thank you." Blaine whispered, not wanting to break the moment of Kurt's hand on his forearm. "I'm not sure what to do." Blaine stood up, tossing his still full drink in the trash, "All Coop and I did was argue. There was nothing planned."

Kurt stood up just after Blaine following him on his slow walk down the path, letting the dogs walk at the side of him that Blaine wasn't. "I can imagine this is very taxing on you Blaine. Have you told anyone else? Does, um…" Kurt hesitates slightly, not wanting to offend Blaine by assuming anything but knowing he needed to finish his question, "does the baby's father know?"

Blaine blew out a breath of laughter. "Oh, no. I haven't found the courage for that one yet. I guess I haven't found the right words yet."

"He should know." Kurt watched Blaine's face fall into a frown. He really was cute, Kurt found himself wanting to smooth out those wrinkles that marred his face and kiss away all his worries. Kurt, himself, began to furrow his eyebrows determined to remind himself not to think of Blaine that way. He was young, so young, and so troubled right now. He didn't need his teacher perving on him added to that list. "Have you thought of anything, how to tell him?"

"I've thought a lot… But I haven't got an idea." Blaine turned his head to face his teacher, "any ideas?"

"I've never been in a situation like this so unfortunately, no."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, as they continued their walk, neither of them wanting to shatter the quiet. Blaine was trying his very hardest to not squeal like a thirteen year old, wanting to remain as mature as possible around him whereas Kurt was trying equally as hard to remind himself that this wasn't any kind of a date and that Blaine was  _still_  only seventeen.

"Any particular reason you went to the Lima Bean?"

"Halfway between my house and the school, it's just familiarity."

"Oh." Blaine sounded slightly disappointed with Kurt's answer.

"Thursday night's they open a little later, they do an open mic night. I was just coming past to make sure it was still on. They cancelled last week."

"Open mic. So you… sing?"

"Yes, I do."

"Wow. Why have I never heard you sing?"

Kurt shyly looked down at the floor. "I'm not a fan of singing at school. It attracts a lot attention that I don't really need."

"Darn. I was hoping I could convince you to come along to Glee club some time."

Kurt laughed politely at Blaine's pouting face. "I hear you guys some times. You sound like you're all having fun. It's good that you have that support."

Blaine felt a bit embarrassed to be asking but he really wanted to know. "So, what do you think of my voice?

Kurt thought for a minute, knowing he had picked out Blaine's smooth tones the first time he had walked past the choir room last year but, wanting to give Blaine an honest answer. "You're very talented Blaine. You have a very smooth voice, a crooner's voice. Like Sinatra."

"So you like it." Blaine was adorable, it was clear he just wanted Kurt's approval.

"Yes, Blaine. I like your voice."

"I'd like to hear you sing."

If Kurt didn't know better he would swear Blaine was trying to flirt with him, and a large part of him was enjoying it. "Errrr, I don't know."

"Oh, please, Mr Hummel. You've heard me!"

When Kurt looked back on this conversation he would know that he went against all his better judgement but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. "You don't have to call me Mr Hummel outside of school, Blaine, I'm fine with Kurt."

The blush that bloomed across Blaine's cheeks was beautiful and Kurt felt ridiculously proud of the fact that he had been the one to cause it.

"So…  _Kurt_ , will you sing for me?"

Kurt hesitated again and Blaine pulled a little on his arm, trying to convince him, "Okay, okay. But then I'm getting you home. Right?"

Blaine looked slightly crestfallen but after a moment's thought he agreed. "Okay, I'm prepared. Dazzle me."

Kurt voice was even more angelic, if possible, when he began to sing. It was high, higher than Blaine could ever hope to reach, but it suited him. It flowed out of him and made Blaine's eyes glaze over. If he thought Kurt couldn't get any more beautiful, he had just been proven wrong. Blaine listened intently to Kurt as he finished the first verse of 'Blackbird' by The Beatles. His voice held so much emotion and Blaine couldn't help but be mesmerised.

"Wow" Blaine was clearly impressed. "And, after  _that_ , you think  _I'm_  good!?

"You're young, Blaine, I've had a lot more time to train my voice to do what I want it to do."

"Geeze, you make it sound like you're a relic."

Kurt laughed along with Blaine. "Ten years makes all the difference when you're almost thirty."

"You're not over the hill or anything."

Kurt threw back his head, showing off small white teeth, "No, I'm nowhere near that hill, thank you!"

Before too long they were standing outside Blaine's house and Blaine's feet felt like lead, he didn't want to go in and not for the simple fact he didn't want to face Cooper, he didn't want to leave Kurt. Kurt looked down at Blaine and smiled lightly. "See you in class tomorrow?"

Kurt knew he was pushing it but when Blaine was silent he needed to know that Blaine would be okay before letting him go into the house. "Blaine, you will be in school tomorrow?"

"There's no way Coop is going to let me stay at home again…" Abruptly everything came crashing back down to Blaine again and tears filled his eyes once more. "I need to tell Sebastian. I just don't know how."

"Blaine, you know I'm here if you need to talk. About anything." Kurt ran his, free, hand down Blaine's arm, preventing him from running away and into the house. His two dogs sat on the pavement next to them, staring up at their master stroking the stranger.

Blaine smiled back at Kurt, before leaning in and quickly pressing his lips to Kurt's warm cheek, whispering his thanks before disappearing around the back of the house. Leaving Kurt with a permanent imprint of how screwed he was searing into his cheek.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you all next week! :)


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Rather overwhelmed by the amount of attention this has gotten both here and over on AO3! I know MPreg and Teacher/Student isn't for everyone so very happy that everyone seems to be enjoying it :) Here's the chapter some of you were waiting for... Enter Sebastian!

 

Thursday morning brought around another battle between Blaine and Baby trying to make him throw up everything he had eaten the previous day when he went to brush his teeth. He quickly crept into Cooper's bathroom and took some of his brother's mints. Just the thought of the way his toothpaste smelt was enough to make him heave all over again.  _Maybe later we could let Daddy brush his teeth, huh Baby? Can you do that?_

The twenty minute walk to school was over far too quickly and Blaine found himself standing outside the main entrance to the school. He reached into his pocket and popped two more mints into his mouth, just to freshen his breath again. He leant against the wall next to the doorway, taking a deep breath and feeling his body tense up. He really didn't want to sit through all his classes today. Maybe he could just skip and sit with Kur- with Mr Hummel. Or just go to his class, maybe no-one would notice.

Blaine was seriously considering it when Principal Sylvester walked past him, sneering something about juvenile mini-gays and being late to class. Blaine bowed his head and walked through the front doors, forcing a smile onto his face. He spotted Tina talking with Jake Puckerman and he headed for them, waving, but as he got closer and closer he realised some-one's perfume wasn't mixing well with another smell in the busy hallway and he bypassed Tina and Jake, fighting the overwhelming feel of nausea, and headed straight for the bathroom.  _Oh, please Baby. Why can't you give Daddy a little break?_

But, apparently, Baby didn't fancy being cooperative in the slightest and Blaine bumped into some-one that was blocking the doorway to the boys bathroom, his stomach almost in his mouth, he swallowed his excess salvia and continued to fight to need to vomit. Blaine faintly heard his name being called and some-one grabbing his shoulders and practically pushing him into the room next to the boy's bathroom.  _The Teacher's Restroom._

Kurt stood outside the bathroom, after shoving Blaine inside, making sure no-one else would disturb the boy. Tina had followed Blaine down the hallway and had watched the exchange. She approached the door, and Mr Hummel, "Sir, is Blaine okay?"

Kurt knew Tina was very close with Blaine, in his short time at the school he very rarely saw Blaine without Tina or the Evans kid between classes, but he didn't know how much Tina knew. He shook his head and ushered her inside the room after checking how empty the hallway way.

 

* * *

 

Blaine wondered how many times he was going to come close to throwing up on his teacher before he actually did it. Blaine wiped his mouth and stood up, leaning his back against the stall door, before quickly bending back over the toilet again.

_This is not fun, Baby; I'm never going to be able to get anything done if you keep making me feel sick. I promise I will not make you sit through awkward family dinners with people we don't know if you just play nice with Daddy now. Please?_

Tears escaped from the corners of Blaine's eyes as he continued to take deep breaths. He heard the main bathroom door open and then a tentative voice that he recognised as Tina's. "Blainey?"

 _Oh no…_  Blaine bent, once more, over the bowl and heaved the last of his stomach's contents into it.

"You okay?"

Blaine hadn't locked the stall behind him after he had entered the bathroom and Tina was now watching him with his head shoved down a toilet emptying his guts out.

"Clearly not. Shut up Tina." Blaine would have laughed at his friend, answering her own question, but his breath was coming in sharp and heavy trying to get his body back under control. Blaine heard something drop the floor and then he felt some of his wayward curls being pushed back from his damp forehead and her free hand rubbing Blaine's back in circular motions.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"No, I'll be okay in just a minute." Blaine leant his head on the forearm that was still gripping the edge of the toilet.

They waited, together, in silence, to see if Blaine was done being sick and when Blaine slumped backward, resting his back against the steel divider, still in front of a crouching Tina he smiled at his friend "Thank you, T."

"It's okay. Feeling any better now?" Tina was staring at Blaine, her brow crumpled in concern.

"Better. Not okay though." Blaine paused, "really not okay."

"Need to talk?" Tina knew something was wrong with Blaine, she'd never seen that look on his face, even on the first day he had transferred to McKinley he had put on a courageous front and made fake jokes until he felt comfortable enough with his new set of friends to put a real smile in place.

"I need you to promise this stays between us. Only two people know so far." Blaine's voice was completely devoid of emotion, and it was scaring Tina.

"Ok."

"Serious, T, no-one. Not Sam, not Unique. No. One." Blaine finally made eye contact with her, a steely look in his eyes that Tina had never seen before. Tina took the hand that was lying limply over his knee and threaded her fingers through his, squeezing reassuringly.

"I promise, Blainey-days." She smiled, trying to ease her best friends tension.

"I'm pregnant." Blaine rushed the words out like if he spat them out then it wouldn't be as much of a shock.

"Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmy. God." Tina was practically hyperventilating which amused Blaine for a short period before he squeezed the hand still held in his.

"Breathe. It helps." Blaine felt very tired all of a sudden. He really wanted to nap, just to curl up in Mr Hummel's class and listen to the soothing tones of his voice whilst she slept. He wondered if he could ask him for that one day, just talk whilst he power napped for a little while.

"Have you told Sebastian?" Tina was stunned. Nothing about this was good. "What are you going to do?" Oh, just so bad. "Oh, what did… Have you told Cooper!?"

"Slow down T. I haven't told Seb. Yet." He sighed. "I'm keeping the baby and Cooper flipped out for about an hour the other night. Just. Lots of yelling."

Blaine didn't know how long Mr Hummel had been in the bathroom for, he couldn't remember if the door shut straight after Tina had come in, but he knew he had been there since Blaine had confessed to Tina, at the very least. The two friends were silent for a while, just holding each other's hands and Kurt knew he needed to get them moving before someone came along.

"Mr Anderson, Miss Cohen-Chang. I'm sorry, but you two do have class to get to."

They both climbed to their feet and Blaine watched as Tina blushed a little when she realise she was now in the bathroom with two men. Two gay men, but, one of them being their teacher clearly made her a little uncomfortable. Kurt slipped back out of the doorway as soon as he heard them begin to move, knowing they would be out shortly. He hadn't meant to intrude on them but the only way to lock the bathroom was from the inside, and he doubted either of them knew that, and he couldn't risk anyone finding them.

 

* * *

 

Kurt handed them both passes that he had filled out to give their teachers to excuse them for being late to first period. "Please make sure you're in for the rest of the day." Kurt aimed it mostly at Blaine before heading off to his own classroom.

Blaine hugged Tina close, whispering his thanks to her, he took a deep breath and, before he lost his courage, "Will you stay close, at Lunch I mean, when I tell Seb?"

"You're going to tell him today?" Tina looked around at the empty hallway before whispering "Here?"

Blaine sighed. "I need to do it soon otherwise I'll keep avoiding it and it'll be even worse." Blaine wasn't looking forward to it at all but he knew Sebastian couldn't be the last person to know. News, and gossip, travelled fast at McKinley and he didn't want someone that might have overheard them or saw him racing to the bathroom to get to Sebastian before he did.

"I'll be there. Promise."

Blaine watched as his best friend walked away to her class, trusting in her words, before swallowing repeatedly realising, once more, that everything in his life really had changed.

 

* * *

 

Kurt had only had to interrupt the friend's conversation in the bathroom because the textiles teacher, Chandler, had come barrelling down the hallway and begun to talk to Kurt, in the empty hallway, very loudly and very inappropriately. Kurt had managed to get him to leave when he had made an excuse about curry the night before and pretended to need the bathroom very desperately. He didn't want the two in the restroom to overhear the way Chandler was propositioning him. When Kurt had, unintentionally, overheard their conversation he felt himself smile. He was glad Blaine was telling some-one else so the teen would have some-one else on his side too. Nothing about the coming months was going to be easy and he would need as much support as possible.

He had gone to his classroom, after letting Tina in to the bathroom, and gave his first period students a pop quiz to scramble over before rushing back to stand guard outside the bathroom. He had grabbed the passes on his desk and a pen before leaving the room so he could fill them out whilst he waited for them.

It was now almost fifth period which meant it was Lunch time and Kurt found himself worrying about Blaine all over again. He had a niggling doubt in the back of his mind that he was forgetting something and that something had to do with the boy.  _Shit._

Kurt pushed himself away from his desk and looked out of his window to see Blaine sitting in the courtyard, looking around for someone, he assumed Sebastian. Kurt could see Blaine's leg bouncing up and down; he smiled at how adorable the young boy was. Blaine looked better, at least from Kurt's vantage point; he had a lot more colour to his face and didn't look quite so seasick. Kurt let out a breath, he wasn't aware he was holding,  _He's okay, no need to worry, get back to marking Hummel._

Kurt watched as Blaine looked up toward the other side of the courtyard and forced a smile onto his face as Sebastian sauntered up to him. Tina rubbed Blaine's should and walked away to another table, close enough for Blaine to be able to see her but far enough that the couple had their privacy. Kurt narrowed his eyes as the smirk fell from Sebastian's face as he loomed over Blaine's small form and grabbed Blaine's upper arms with his hands.

 

* * *

 

Blaine and Tina weren't talking about anything in particular; Tina was just kind of filling the time whilst she waited with Blaine for his boyfriend. She was trying to stay as calm as possible so that she wouldn't alert Blain as to just how worried she really was about the whole situation, let alone how Sebastian would react.

"T, I can practically feel you vibrating. Please, don't panic. If you panic I will and then I might throw up again." Blaine put his hand over Tina's on the table and squeezed once before pulling back and placing them in his own lap.

"Sorry. I'm just, anxious I guess." The brunette smiled apologetically at her friend but further comments were halted when she heard Sebastian call out Blaine's name from across the courtyard.

"Here we go." Blaine mumbled under his breath before smiling up at Sebastian, motioning him over. "Hi Seb!"

"Hey Blaine. Asian girl that's always with  _my_  boyfriend." He shifted his eyes over to Tina, never hiding his contempt for the girl that he had to share Blaine's attention with. "How's my favourite boy?"

"Lovely to see you too Sebastian. I've gotta run." Tina was up and gone before Blaine could even try to stop her or even say goodbye.  _Thanks for the support Cohen Chang._

"What's up hot stuff?" Sebastian wasn't stupid, despite popular opinion, he knew Blaine had been avoiding him the past few days so he was hoping that Blaine would spout some rubbish, he'd be the consoling, and reassuring, boyfriend and hopefully lunch would end in him getting off so he could relax in his last few lessons.

"I'm pregnant."  _Wow, heck, don't sugar coat it Blaine. Go for it!_

"Excuse me?" Sebastian was floored. Involuntarily he sank to the seat next to Blaine, disbelief over his face.

"Pregnant. Me. I'm, um, pregnant."

"I heard you the first time." Sebastian hissed, "We used condoms, Blaine. Every. Time. Fuck. No. No way, this shit isn't mine."

"Condom's aren't 100% effective, Seb, and you're the only person I've ever… been with."

"Shit. Blaine, I've got my College interviews coming up. I've got fucking Princeton after me. What the fuck are they going to think when you rock up as my partner looking like a fucking beached whale? No. No, Blaine. How could you do this to me?"

"To  _you?_  I'm pretty sure  _I'm_  the pregnant one Sebastian!" Blaine felt his anger begin to rise, along with his boyfriends.

"It's  _Princeton_  Blaine. I'm not giving that up because you're some freak of nature!"

"Freak of- God. Sebastian, is that what this is to you? Is that what  _I_  am!?" Blaine was so furious with Sebastian's selfishness that he was almost spitting.

Sebastian got up to his feet, fuelled with anger and disappointment; he reached over to Blaine, grabbed his arms and hauled him up to his feet, his grip tight and painful around Blaine's biceps. "How could you, Blaine. I'm not fucking losing my College over this. This pregnancy is  _your_ fault.  _Your_  shit to deal with."

Blaine's eyes widened in fear as he realised Sebastian had raised his voice, all eyes in the courtyard were focussed on the arguing pair. Sebastian still held Blaine's arms in his hands, shaking him, and tears filled Blaine's eyes.

 

* * *

 

Kurt had taken the stairs down to the courtyard almost three at a time, afraid of how violent Sebastian was going to get with the smaller boy. Kurt forced authority into his voice and dropped it to a tone he very rarely used.

"I suggest you remove your hands, Mr Smythe.  _Now._ "

Slowly Sebastian released his hands from Blaine, dropping him back down to his feet and Kurt watched as his tears began to flow, hunching his shoulders over and allowing the sobs to wrack his small frame.

"Mr Smythe, go and see Miss Berry. Don't move until I get there."

Kurt was furious. He never believed that violence was an answer to anything and he felt his hands forming fists at the side of his body, angry at how someone could even think to threaten some-one as kind hearted as Blaine. He watched as Sebastian left the courtyard. Kurt didn't dare look down at Blaine until he got his own temper under control, not wanting to cause the boy any more worry or stress.

Kurt squatted down in front of Blaine, by the table side, "Are you okay?"

"No," Blaine said simply, looking up at Kurt, tears sliding down his cheeks making his face blotchy with colour. His eyes were red, Kurt could see the heartbreak in them and he felt his own heart constrict in response.

"It's okay sweetheart. I'm going to get Tina to take you home. Is that all right?"

Blaine simply nodded and Kurt motioned Tina, who had made her way back over almost as quickly as her teacher once she saw Sebastian put his hands on her friend, over with one hand gesture, not taking his eyes away from Blaine.

"Miss Cohen-Chang, could you take Mr Anderson home please. Stay with him, I'll excuse you both from classes for the rest of the day."

"Thank you Mr Hummel." Tina sat down beside her best friend and leant her head against Blaine's shoulder and put her arm around his small waist. "C'mon, Blainey-days. Let's got home."

Kurt stood there, watching the two friends leave, realising that what he was feeling wasn't standard between teacher and student and that Sebastian Smythe should keep a clear distance, from him and Blaine, for a while.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a fair warning dears, there WON’T be an update next Sunday! (My big brother and baby niece are visiting from Scotland so they’ll be here, I won’t have much time for updating between aww-ing tbh!) I’m going to try my hardest to get one up on Friday but I can’t promise anything L Thank you for all your lovely feedback! On with the show!

 

Sebastian knew he was in deep shit from the moment he entered the small waiting area outside Miss Berry’s office. In the past hour his entire world had fallen to pieces around him. Yesterday he had received the itinerary for his interview with Princeton; he knew what he wanted from his future. He had never promised a forever to Blaine, Blaine knew that Sebastian didn’t do commitment. He had stayed with Blaine because his options were almost non-existent in a small town like Lima. He was on the fence with Blaine due to his… body as it was. He knew once he got out he would go to clubs, find people to keep him occupied and move on very quickly. He had no desire to be in a relationship. He glanced down at his bag next to the chair, the letter placed in the front pouch, ready to show Blaine, ready to tell him that his future was starting. Sebastian wasn’t stupid, he knew if Princeton found out about… _This_. Then it would be over, he knew they took pride in their appearance. This couldn’t be happening.         

 

He stared at the walls of Miss Berry’s waiting room, a place he had only ever been to before to receive praise for something he had done, Sebastian might have been a shitty kind of person but he was a model student and everyone knew it. Sebastian actually felt fear curling in the pit of his stomach, this was going to fuck up his plans, he just knew it.

 

He heard a door open down the hallway and the heavy thud of boots came closer to the office. The boots arrived much too suddenly for Sebastian’s liking, he knew it was Mr Hummel coming in to the office. He looked up from the floor to find pure fury in Mr Hummel’s eyes and Sebastian felt all of his confidence ebb away. He needed to remain diplomatic to stop any further damage to his future, that meant no snarky comments and no making any situations potentially worse.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Sebastian watched out of the corner of his eye as Mr Hummel strode past him, not offering any more acknowledgment of his presence, the muscles in his cheeks twitching, signally how agitated he really was.

 

_Oh shit._

 

With a brief knock to Miss Berry’s door, his teacher walked straight in and Sebastian felt his eyes sliding closed, willing away the feeling of self-disgrace.  _I’m still going. I am still going._  This was not going to stop him.

 

* * *

 

Blaine and Tina had barely made it out of the schoolyard’s gates before the shaking began. First Blaine’s teeth started to chatter and before they had hit the end of the first block tears began to stream down his face again. They were almost halfway to Blaine’s house, just two more blocks away when Blaine suddenly stopped, almost tripping Tina up, hunched over and threw up on his street and his shoes.

 

Tina panicked slightly; she wasn’t sure what do to. She just knew she needed to get Blaine home safely. “Oh, Blainey. You okay? We can’t stop right now. We’re so close to your house. We’ll be there soon. C’mon.” Tina knew her mumblings weren’t completely coherent but she continued to mutter encouragement to her friend, mainly just to remind him that she was here for him and he wasn’t alone. She tugged Blaine’s arm, ushering him along. Tina allowed a small smile when Blaine managed to start walking along again but it didn’t last long, he only made it to the end of that block and across the street before having to stop to empty his stomach once more.

 

“Oh, B, I can almost see your house. We’re so close!” In Tina’s nervous state she found herself almost singing to Blaine in a baby-talk voice. “Just one foot first, there we go! One more, okay, next one now. Yes, Blainey, we’re almost there!”

 

Tina’s glee was short-lived when Blaine hunched over for the third time and threw up into the guttering down the side of the pathway. Blaine’s hands were almost ice cold and Tina was almost crying with fear because she just didn’t know how to help. Then all of a sudden she was one of four people surrounding Blaine’s, still doubled over, form. She heard Sam call her name from down the street, Mrs Thompson was coming down her driveway and Mr Hummel was climbing out of his car.

 

Mr Hummel was the first to reach the two teens, his voice soft and sympathetic. “I was worried this would happen.” He placed a warm hand on the bottom of Blaine’s back leaning over to talk to him. “Blaine? Can you stand up for me?” When he didn’t receive a response he lowered his tone, to his teacher voice, for the second time that day, “Mr Anderson. Can you hear me?” Still no response.

 

Tina was babbling away, trying to get an answer from Blaine when Blaine’s legs started to shake under him, once more, but before they completely gave out Mr Hummel was able to catch his small frame in his arms. Mrs Thompson placed a hand on her forehead in worry. “I think he’s in shock, what happened!?”

 

Tina began to try covering up with various reasons before Mr Hummel’s voice broke through her excuses “Just a scare at school.” Kurt thought quickly, needing to take charge of the situation, he shifted Blaine around in his arms, making sure to support his almost limp body properly, and looked up at Tina. “Tina, I need you to open my car door. Where does Blaine live?”

 

“Only half a block away, it’s just down the street.” Tina whirled around, and opened the car door, whilst waving her hands around in the direction of Blaine’s house. She saw Sam jogging up to them, gripping Tina’s wrist and asking what was going on.

 

“Evans. I need you to take my car keys.”

 

“Wha- I don’t understand.”

 

Kurt changed his mind about trying to get Blaine into his car and driving the rest of the way home, it would be quicker for him to try and walk. He thanked whoever was listening for his dad making him take weights classes with his brother when they were younger. He hoisted Blaine up a bit more against his body, making sure he was secure in a bridal-style carry, his attention split between the two teens that were trailing behind him – Mrs Thompson having gone back inside her house after getting bored of the commotion – Kurt barked out orders at the two. “Which house? Some-one needs to get the door.” And finally “Tina. Call his brother.”

 

Once inside the house Kurt looked around, ignoring the comfortable feel of the home and the welcoming smell of vanilla in the air. He placed Blaine on the couch, making sure he wouldn’t fall off, “Tina, take his shoes off.” Carefully Tina sat down on the sofa next to her friend, untied his neat laces, ignoring the strong smell of sick from them, and slipped them off his feet. She told her teacher she had done what he had asked and went into the kitchen to wash her hands. Kurt called into the other room. “Tina. I need a blanket.”

 

Sam snapped into action and grabbed a folded up blanket on the armchair in the corner of the room, passed it to his teacher and watched as he tucked it around Blaine’s body. Tina came back and hovered next to Blaine, unsure what to do. Kurt waved his hand to the space next to Blaine. “He needs to stay as warm as possible, sit next to him for me.”

 

Sam was standing in the doorway, not sure if he could help any more. “Sam? Get me something warm and sugary for Blaine to drink, please.”

 

“Warm and sugary? Er, would hot chocolate work Mr Hummel?” He didn’t wait for Kurt’s answer before making a beeline for Blaine’s kitchen ignoring the sound of Kurt’s voice telling him that would be perfect.

 

“Tina, did you get hold of his brother?” From her spot on the couch cuddled up to Blaine the girl nodded her head, yes. “Okay… How long before he gets here?”

 

“He does, erm, drama type workshops at schools. He’s at an elementary school today, downtown. It should only take about five minutes for him to drive here.”

 

“Ok. That’s good.” He looked down at the, still dazed, boy and felt his heart contract once more. “Blaine? Feeling any better?”

 

Sleepy, and dazed, hazel eyes blinked open to focus on him crouched down next to him. Blaine had no recollection of how he got into his living room but he found it hard to care, with the way his teacher was looking down at him, concern written all over them.

 

Kurt smiled at Blaine, eyes betraying his feelings, “Shh. Your brother’s going to be here soon. It’s going to be okay.” His eyes focused on the brunette who was watching them closely. “Tina?” Can you ask Blaine’s brother to call Miss Berry’s office? I’ll be there.”

 

Blue eyes still locked with Blaine’s. “Kurt?”

 

Tina sat up, disentangling herself from Blaine in the process who rolled over to his back and closed his eyes once more. Blaine didn’t want Kurt to know how badly he wanted him to stay. Tears escaped his eyes once more and he curled himself into a tight ball underneath the blanket.

 

“Mr Hummel, where are you going?” Tina’s voice was quiet, making her uncertainty easy to pick out.

 

Kurt looked back to Blaine and caught him stealing a glance up at him. Kurt smiled and it warmed Blaine’s body. He turned his attention to Tina, standing next to the couch, “I still need to deal with Mr Smythe.”

 

Before either one of the teens could question what that meant he had disappeared out of the door.

 

* * *

 

There was no noise from behind the door, there were no raised voices, nothing banging. No sound at all. Sebastian was taking that as a fairly good sign. His attention was split between the door that Mr Hummel had gone through and the tick of the clock next to the secretary’s desk. He watched the second hand tick round to complete its revolution. The phone began to ring but he paid no attention to it until he heard the secretary say “Yes, he is. One moment.” He watched the woman push a few buttons before speaking again. “Miss Berry, I have Cooper Anderson on the phone. Yes. I’ll put him through.”

 

There was a brief pause before. “Mr Anderson? Miss Berry is happy for me to put you through.” Another small pause. “Yes, he is, Sir. You’re welcome. Just a second.” More buttons pushed.

 

Sebastian dropped his gaze when the woman looked directly at him. The news had to be all over the school by now. He knew what kind of shit stirrers were in the middle school. He knew the Cheerio’s would have embellished and expanded on what had happened, he could almost hear the Jewish kid starting his camera up.

 

Another twelve minutes slowly ticked by.

  

* * *

 

 

Cooper flew through the front door, thoughts muddled in his mind, Tina’s voicemail had been a bunch of mumbled mess and nothing had made sense until he heard “Blaine needs you.” He had barely grabbed his stuff before he was out of the school doors and making a run for his car.

 

Tina and Blaine were curled together on the couch, Sam sitting at their feet, the girl holding a mug of something for Blaine to sip from. “B? Tina?”

 

One look at his older brother and Blaine collapsed back into gulping sobs. “Coop?”

 

“Blainey, what happened?” All of Cooper’s protective instincts were going into overdrive. He wedged himself into the gap between Blaine and the edge of the sofa, gathering his baby brother in a comforting embrace and waited a few beats before turning to his brother’s friend. “Tina, what happened?” Cooper knew he could get no sense out of Blaine when he was like this Tina would be his best bet.

 

Tina hesitantly relayed the events of the day. She covered everything from Mr Hummel’s first rescue when Blaine felt sick in the morning down to what had happened in the courtyard. Sam watched intently as Tina explained, his face losing colour at learning about Blaine’s pregnancy, his heart going out to his best friend. By the time Tina was finished Cooper was almost red with anger and Sam’s expression matched.

 

“Where is Mr Hummel now?” Cooper was trying to hold it together for Blaine but he was struggling.

 

“He went back to school. He said he had to ‘deal with’ Sebastian.” Tina was trying to remember but it was Sam that came to her rescue. “He wanted you to call Miss Berry’s office. I guess he’s there.”

 

Cooper nodded and then asked Sam to grab his phone from his bag, which he’d dumped by the front door, because he didn’t want to disturb the light sleep that Blaine had fallen in to.

 

Cooper first of all called their doctors office. They offered to see Blaine in two hours’ time and they advised that he was just kept warm and keep the hot chocolate going.  After the phone call to the obstetrician Cooper felt a lot calmer so he called Miss Berry’s office and the phone was answered on the second ring.

 

“Hello. May I speak with Miss Berry please?”

 

“Cooper Anderson.”

 

“Yes, I’ll hold.” Cooper smiled at the two, awake, teenagers that were looking over at him and brushed his hand lightly over Blaine’s hair whilst he waited to be connected.

 

“Thank you. Oh! Is Mr Hummel with her?”

 

“He is? Perfect. Thanks.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Rachel Berry.”

 

“Oh, hello. Would you mind terribly if I put you on speaker phone. I have Mr Hummel here and since he was an eyewitness I’d rather he go over this with both of us.”

 

“Thank you. Just a moment.”

 

Rachel looked down at the contraption on her desk, she was at a complete loss and sighed with relief when Kurt leant over, took the receiver from her, pushed the hold button followed by the hands free button and suddenly another voice filled the room, “it’s okay B. It’s going to be okay.” It was obvious he wasn't talking to either one of the teachers and Rachel’s voice broke through. “Mr Anderson?”

 

“Still here.”

 

“Thank you. Mr Hummel is with me now.”

 

Kurt spoke up, identifying himself, “Mr Anderson. How is Blaine doing?”

 

“He’s still shaken, hasn’t really said much. Tina filled me in on what happened.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Cooper’s composure broke a little. “Thank you, Mr Hummel, for what you did for Blaine today. I can’t thank you enough.”

 

“It doesn’t deserve thanks, Sir, Blaine is very smart and a very talented student. I’m proud to have him in my class.” Kurt would have said a lot more but now wasn’t the time.

 

“Thank you anyway. Would you be able to tell me what happened, from your side?” Kurt managed to give an unbiased account of the afternoon’s events, barely controlling his temper. Cooper was able to hear the underlying anger in his words and Rachel could see it in his face.

 

“Mr Anderson?” Rachel spoke up once Kurt was finished. “Sebastian will be removed from any classes he has with Blaine.” She mouthed ‘and yours’ to Kurt and Kurt nodded his appreciation.

 

“Thank you Miss Berry, that was one of the bigger concerns I have, I know they had quite a few classes together.”

 

“Sebastian will also be suspended for three days. Incidents like this are simply not tolerable.”

 

They heard a deep sigh through the phone. “Thanks. Both of you. It’s appreciated everything you’ve done today. For both of us. Blaine would feel the same.”

 

Cooper was about to hand up when Kurt’s voice stopped him. “Mr Anderson? Would you please let me know if anything changes with Blaine?”

 

“Sure thing. Thanks again.”

 

“No problem.”

 

The call was disconnected and Rachel looked over at Kurt sitting on the edge of her desk.

 

“Kurt? I’ve got no idea how to do this. Its fine taking him out of your class and put him in Hunter’s. But the rest of it… I’m going to have to re-do his schedule. I had a look while I was waiting; they have four different classes together.” Rachel put her hands, palm down, on the files in front of her. “And I have to suspend him as well.”

 

“Well, Rach, it gives you three days to shuffle it all around then, doesn’t it?”

 

“Funny, Kurt.”

 

The atmosphere grew sober. “It should go on his permanent record.”

 

“I know, but it won’t do. His Princeton acceptance will already be in jeopardy.” Rachel looked up, once more, at her old friend. “Do you think the Anderson’s will want to press charges?”

 

“The brother sounded angry enough. But I don’t know.”

 

“He did… Right, let’s get this over with.”

 

Rachel got up from her desk and walked over to the door, opening it and sticking her head out of the door. “Sebastian Smythe, can you come in please.”


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Thanks for being so patient and for the lovely messages! I adored having my baby niece here and I know I didn't manage to update last week (bad author!) so have one tonight! (It's 11.30pm here!) and I'll put the next up tomorrow :) Enjoy!

Cooper let Blaine skip two days of school and they had a long weekend together but he told Blaine that Monday morning he needed to go back to school, like it or not. Blaine was still young enough to be taken away from Cooper and they still needed to prove they could do this together. Blaine had been panicking about going back to school all weekend but he had managed a smile when a bunch of flowers were delivered to the house on Saturday afternoon.

 

They were red and yellow tulip-type flowers and Blaine flailed around, quite a bit, when Cooper had passed them to him. No-one had ever given Blaine flowers before and the note with them was only signed ‘Me. X’ which gave Blaine no indication at all at to who could have sent them. At first he thought they were from Sebastian but quickly dismissed that idea when he realised that flowers weren’t his style. Unless they led to fucking which, clearly, was not going to be the case here.

 

Blaine had briefly entertained the hope that they would be from Kurt but that was pushed out even quicker than the Sebastian idea. He was just a kid to him.

  

* * *

 

Kurt didn’t know that Blaine was back in school until he walked into his classroom five minutes before the start of their sixth block. He was by himself, books clutched tightly against his chest, the tension and worry in his eyes clear to see. His class did not seem to want to settle, girls sitting on desks, boys with their feet up and Blaine quietly staring at invisible markings on his desk.

 

Kurt sighed deeply, ready to begin his lesson, when he heard some of the comments that were being banded between the cheerleaders to the right of his desk. The nastier things being whispered made the hair on his arms stand up and his fingers curl into his palm, making a fist.

 

“All right, everyone, time to sit down.” The bell rang outside the classroom and there were still a pocketful of students milling around, talking amongst themselves. Kurt had prided himself on standing out in high school, not only with the clothing he chose to wear but how he carried himself. If some-one didn’t acknowledge his presence, he _made_ them and adult-Kurt was no different.

 

His voice dropped its normal melodic pitch and his aggravated roar filled his classroom, startling the seniors. “I said _sit down_ and I meant _now!_ ” He watched as students scrambled, tripping over themselves and each other to get to their assigned seats.

 

Kurt found thirty-four pairs students staring, wide eyed, at his as he paced along the front of his room. His anger was clear in his face and the way he held his shoulders.

 

“You are all _fully_ aware that this is _my_ classroom and when I request that you sit down and button up. You will _all_ obey that. Do I make myself clear!?”

 

He took a deep breath, not daring to look across at Blaine the only one of his students not gaping at him like he’d grown an extra head, “I will not tolerate any nastiness in this room. You are all almost adults and I expect you to act like it.”

 

He narrowed his eyes at the cheerleaders sat on his side, glaring a little bit extra at Quinn Fabray – one of the worst offenders in his class – making sure they knew he meant them in this. “I will also not have any horrid gossip flying about this room or downright bitching. There is _never_ a time or place for that. It’s a disgusting quality to have and you should all try to shake it out of your personalities now because it will not fly well when you leave here and if I hear any such nonsense I will not hesitate to issue detentions. Multiple offences will earn you a failing grade.”

 

Kurt took one deeper, calming, breath and he launched into his planned discussion of E. E Cummings that he had planned for the afternoon.

 

* * *

 

Blaine felt beyond humiliated; he had been subjected to stares and whispers mixed with looks of pity from almost everyone that had passed him that day. He had been fighting back tears all day, always feeling them well in the corners of his eyes. He had been stopped a few times by students to be asked stupid questions. He’d also discovered, from Miss Berry, that he wasn’t the first boy to be pregnant and pass through the halls (‘ _and between you and me, you probably won’t be the last’_ ) so why was everyone treating him like a circus freak? The only high points of his day had been finding either Sam or Tina waiting outside every class that Blaine had gone to without one of them. Sam had been especially protective of his friend and after seeing Mr Hummel positively red with anger Blaine mentally added him to the short list of people that actually cared.

 

Blaine watched as _Kurt_ paced the front of his classroom, every eye on him worried about what he would do next. He had never given an unfair grade and he was always sat at his desk willing to help if someone was struggling but this afternoon… Well, Blaine wasn’t ashamed to admit that he was a little scary.

 

Sam had told Blaine that Sebastian had been suspended for three days and therefore wouldn’t be back in the school grounds before Wednesday. Blaine had heaved a huge sigh of relief at that, he hadn’t spoken with the other boy since the day in the courtyard and Blaine was rather happy with that. He didn’t really want to see or speak to him, not that he even knew what he would say, or what Sebastian was going to do further for that matter. The only reason Blaine had kept the flowers he had been sent was because he was positive they weren’t from Sebastian.

 

Listening to Mr Hummel’s voice, once more, Blaine was able to tune out what was going on around him, simply focussing on the sound of his teacher’s voice and letting his mind wander. The whole situation was turning out to be a lot more difficult than he ever imagined it would be. He felt himself acting almost all the time, pretending everything was okay and it would all work out perfectly. Tina and Sam were the only people willing to talk to him, that weren’t members of the staff faculty, but Blaine didn’t really mind that one. It was the looks from other students, people he didn’t even know, that were bothering him. It didn’t surprise him that the Cheerio’s were spreading their nasty gossip around the school, what did surprise him was that when he noticed them all staring at him Santana wasn’t. Her eyes were downcast, staring at the floor as if she didn’t want to be there at all. Santana hadn’t gone out of her way to talk to Blaine but she hadn’t made any scathing comments or given him any dirty looks. Instead, he found her giving him a small smile across the cafeteria, that lunchtime, when no-one else was looking, offering silent support.

 

Before he knew it, Blaine’s eyes and drifted closed, his ears tuned only to the sound of his teacher, echoing around him.

 

* * *

 

Kurt stole a quick glance down, as he wound his way between the desks of his classroom, his gaze falling on Blaine, asleep again, he fought a smile and carried on with his survey of the room, making sure everyone was still taking notes as he spoke. He ignored the desire to run his hands over Blaine’s shoulders, pulling him to his chest and allowing him to sleep there. _Focus Kurt. Teaching right now._

 

Once again he let the boy sleep on, knowing full well he would never allow anyone else to get away with that in his classroom. Kurt rationalised to himself that special circumstances deserved certain concessions.  He told his mind that his leniency was due to Blaine’s pregnancy, not the fact that he made the most adorable, nose scrunching, movements in his sleep. No, the fact that he just wanted to scoop Blaine up in his arms and cuddle down with him had no bearing on his decisions. Kurt mentally scoffed at his thoughts; he knew damn well why he was cutting Blaine so much slack and why he’d lost his temper at the beginning of the period. He resolved to stop lying to himself and just acknowledge that he was attracted to a seventeen year old student.

 

Before he knew it the bell rang, signally the end of his class, and he watched on as his students gathered their belonging and file out of his class, none of them even daring to whisper to each other as they walked past him.  Kurt looked back into the room once everyone had left and found Blaine still asleep at his desk, face buried in the crook of his elbow, arms folded across the desk. He crouched down next to his chair, a move reminiscent of the previous week, and brushed the back of his hand down Blaine’s exposed cheek, his eyes mapping out the boys features. He quickly drew his hand away, when he realised what he was doing, and berated himself. _Admitting your attraction is one thing; acting on it is simply stupid. No touching._

 

His brain was trying to be as mature as his age but his heart had been singing a different tune for days now and was getting a little louder in its wishes to be able to reach out and touch Blaine, wanted to take this small teen and hold him tight, shielding him from everything bad even seeing him.  Once again his hand found a way to touch Blaine, his fingers tangling in the errant curls at the base of his neck and trailing down until they cupped Blaine’s shoulder through his cardigan. “Blaine, c’mon… It’s time to wake up.”

 

A sleepy “Mmm” was the only answer he received, Blaine’s mouth opening a small bit, soft breaths filling the distance separating their faces.

 

“Blaine, class is done. It’s time to get up.” He watched as Blaine swam his way to consciousness, slowly, almost fighting it every step of the way.

 

“Nooo, hate waking up.” Blaine’s voice was soft, petulance lacing his words and everything about Blaine in that moment was sending shockwaves through Kurt’s reserve.

 

“Oh, sweetheart. You need to wake up.” _No, Kurt! No pet names!_

But with that Blaine opened his bright eyes and all rational thought flew out of Kurt’s mind. _Oh shit, Blaine, you’re so gorgeous._

His hand tightened on Blaine’s shoulder, unconsciously, and watched on as Blaine reached out to try and rub some marker pen from his shirt, without thinking Blaine leant his body toward Kurt along with his hand and dropped his head down onto his teacher’s shoulder. His voice muffled softly, hardly heard in the classroom, not loud enough to disturb the spell they had found themselves a part of. “Jus’ stay here a while. Yeah?”

 

Kurt couldn’t speak. He couldn’t find his voice, Blaine’s question joining the very few moments that made Kurt Hummel speechless. His hand automatically slid along Blaine’s back, holding him close, allowing them both to stay that way for a few minutes.

 

It was Blaine who finally moved, abruptly shifting away from Kurt’s embrace. “Oh! I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

 

He stopped when Kurt waved a hand, gesturing him to be quiet. “It’s okay. Just, um.” He cleared his throat. “Let’s try and not let this happen again.”

 

“Okay.” Blaine gathered his books, refusing to look up at Kurt. “I… Thank you. For what you’ve been doing for me, especially the other day… and this. Thank you.”

 

Blaine fled from the room before Kurt could even formulate a response that wouldn’t shove him deeper into the hole of trouble he had dug for himself.


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the small delay! Here's update two! For those that aren't aware there was an update (chapter five!) yesterday so make sure to read that one too! ;D Enjoy! :)

Blaine could almost feel his stomach knotting up, no matter how many times he took deep breaths or attempted to, mentally, give himself a pep talk it just would not leave him. He’d been up most of the night through stress and worry and with how fatigued he was feeling during the day not sleeping at night was not something else he needed to add onto to pile of worry he was carrying around at the moment.

 

It had become a ritual thing, Blaine finding himself staring at the entrance doors to McKinley, wishing he could just skip the day. Maybe just go to Mr Hummel’s class. But, today, his plan was cut short by a large hand landing between his shoulder blades with a clap. Sam stood behind him, slightly to the right, a solid presence, giving Blaine as much support as he needed. He had practically sewn himself to Blaine’s side since finding out his news. Monday he and Tina had walked Blaine all over the school to his classes, Tuesday he had walked home with him - despite living the other side of town – and this morning Blaine had opened his front door to find Sam smiling up at him from the bottom step, ready to walk with him.

 

“Time to face the music, Nightbird.” The memories of his and Sam’s friendship made Blaine smile, despite the grim undertones of what he was saying. The question that had been praying on Blaine’s mind slipped out before he could even catch it.

 

“Sam… You’re surprisingly okay with all of this.” Blaine waved a hand in front of his flat, for now, stomach.

 

He watched as his friend sighed, looking down at his feet, then focused his gaze somewhere above Blaine’s head. Without making eye contact with Blaine he said “My brother… Uhm. He lives in San Fran now.”

 

 _Oh, darn._ Blaine didn’t really know much about Sam’s family, he was very closed off about them, and now he kind of understood why. Blaine rubbed a palm on his friend’s shoulder. “Thanks, Sam. Means a lot to me.”

 

Sam beamed down at his friend, not hiding how much his thanks mean, “No-one should do this alone, Blain, Sebastian’s an asshole and we all know it.”

 

He stepped away from Blaine and flipped his hair from his eyes. “C’mon, let’s go face the hordes.”

 

Part of Blaine just wanted to run and hide but Blaine knew he just couldn’t do that anymore. Better to get the day over and done with. “I’m still Wolverine.”

 

Sam snorted. “You wish. Get moving.” Sam threw the doors open in front of them and it made Blaine feel just a little lighter, knowing Sam had his back.

 

* * *

 

Rachel hated these meetings, she very rarely had to chair them with more than just the student involved parents but, unfortunately, in this case there were other factors involved.

 

Her office was feeling a little overcrowded at the moment and she was very glad she had got some help bringing in extra chairs this morning although she would have been more than happy letting a fair number of the occupants stand for the entirety. Both Sebastian’s parents were present. Mrs Smythe sat on one of the extra chairs; her husband standing up straight behind her and Sebastian sat to her left, on the outside of the circle. Occupying one of the other chairs was Professor Graham MacArthur, Dean of Students at Princeton and next to him sat one of their faculty advisors, Mr Trevor West.

 

None of the occupants of the room looked anywhere near pleased to be there. Sebastian’s parents held stony, unimpressed faces and MacArthur’s expression was impassive.

 

Rachel glanced down at the assorted paperwork that littered her desk, trying not to let any of her emotions show, however, her distaste for the entire process was very difficult to hide from her tone of voice.

 

Part of the paperwork in front of her held an affidavit from Blaine Anderson stating the events of last week. Part of the protection order the school had put in place for the boy and Rachel would need it for what she was about to do.

 

She, lightly, cleared her throat and finally spoke to all in the room. “I will not be repeating the reasons why I requested you all here this morning. I will take the assumption that everyone is aware of the severity of this situation.” Rachel paused. Glancing around the room to take stock of everyone’s agreement.

 

“Mr Smythe.” Rachel looked steadily at the young man in front of her. “It has been decided, given the circumstances, and given your… reaction and subsequent behaviour from last week that you will be removed from your current classes and placed in others. Your timetable will change and you will be given it in due course.”

 

Both parents began to protest, but Rachel held up a manicured hand to signal that she was not finished. “The student board feels that in light of the incident and the order of protection that has been filed against you by Mr Anderson that this is a necessary step.”

 

Rachel took a deep breath and folded her hands in front of her, across the papers, “Incidents of this nature will not be tolerated on school grounds. Any violation of anything we put in place following last week’s action will result in further suspension.” Rachel waited a moment, allowing the information to sink in. “Is this understood, Mr Smythe?”

 

With no emotion in his face, or tone of voice, Sebastian stared straight ahead and spoke clearly. “Yes, Ma’am.”

 

Rachel took one more deep breath. “Against my better judgement and at the request of Professor MacArthur this will not be reflected on your permanent record. However” Rachel paused and stared into Sebastian’s eyes. “Should you feel the need to approach Mr Anderson or attempt to speak with him I will not hesitate to make it become part of your record and I will not be dissuading Mr Anderson’s guardian from any legal action.”

 

Sebastian’s mother opened her mouth to speak but promptly closed it when her husband placed a firm hand on her shoulder, forestalling any further comments.

 

Rachel informed Sebastian that he would need to stop by Student Services to pick up his new timetable and that he would be expected to follow it with immediate effect but that he would need to get his old timetable signed by each of his previous teachers with his student number for that class so they would be able to transfer any previous assignments already filed.

 

Rachel waited for everyone to leave her office before dropping, unceremoniously, back into her chair. The bastard hadn’t even asked how Blaine was doing.  _Fuck._ She still hated teenage boys sometimes.

  

* * *

 

 

Sebastian’s father, Gerald Smythe, stalked to the main doors of the school, jaw clenched and hands held firmly down at his side, his wife trailing behind him, not saying a word. He had called in a lot of favours so that his son was able to attend a college with a solid reputation and even more favours since that point when the Anderson boy had appeared in his son’s life.

 

Without a word to his wife Gerald nodded to Mr West. “Look, Trevor, I appreciate everything you’ve done for my boy. We’ll see about getting a release from the Anderson kid. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

 

“Sir, I was able to do what I could. It was still the Professor’s decision and we, both, would appreciate your assurance that nothing else will go awry.”

 

“You have my word, Trevor; Sebastian will do as he’s told.” He loosened his jaw a small amount. “Please, give my regards to your father.”

 

“Of course I will.” Professor MacArthur stalked past the two men talking in the corridor and out into the car park, signalling to his colleague that he was ready to leave.

 

Sharing a look with his wife, Gerald said “Let’s leave Daphne. We have some things to discuss.”

 

* * *

 

Despite having run through countless different scenarios in his head, and it being the third time it had happened that day, Blaine still wasn’t prepared for the sight of Sebastian standing at the head of the classroom, seemingly waiting for Mr Hummel.

 

The first time he saw the other boy was in his second period Math class. Blaine had almost run from the classroom, afraid Sebastian would try to speak to him but he had just gotten the signature from their teach and left without so much as a glance in Blaine’s direction.

 

_Hiii Baby, how’re you doing? I know it must be like a club in there right now. Daddy’s sorry for the crazy heartbeat but Daddy’s feeling a little confused right now. He thought Sebastian loved him but it doesn’t seem that way right now. I don’t think either of us are wanted, by him, Daddy’s so sorry, Baby._

 

Blaine was sitting at his desk, his chin resting on the palm of his right hand, staring at nothing, purposefully avoiding looking in Sebastian’s direction waiting by Kur- by Mr Hummel’s desk.

 

The bell rang and the noise inside the classroom slowly began to subside, bar the irritating pitch of Quinn’s voice at the front of the room, “Just, really. Some people have no respect for themselves. Sleeping with someone in the first place but not using any protection? It’s a sin in itself but that is practically begging for trouble. What did he expect? That they would all run in to the sunset together? Pfft!”

 

“Miss Fabray?”

Quinn froze, the smirk she had been wearing and directing across at Blaine quickly faded and she hesitated afraid to turn around to face Mr Hummel. Blaine snuck a quick look at their teacher’s expression and found himself shivering at the coldness he found there, his eyes were the lightest shade of blue he’d ever seen, icy hot and laser bright, and his jaw was clenching and unclenching as he glared down at the blonde cheerleader. When Quinn hesitated Mr Hummel repeated himself.

 

“Miss Fabray.”

 

_Baby, again, apologies for the drumbeat but he’s not even angry at me and I’m really scared!_

Sebastian was less than two feet away from the angry teacher and he took one look at Mr Hummel’s face and stepped away, that look had been directed at him last week and it hadn’t ended well for him.

 

Quinn finally turned around and, foolishly, attempted to placate their teacher. “Yes, Mr Hummel?” Angelic smile in place, eyelashes fluttering and then mistake number two, she tried to giggle, an attempt at cutesy – Blaine assumed. Whether it was nerves or not Mr Hummel was not impressed.

 

“What did I say, not two days ago, to the entirety of this class?” He waited a beat and when Quinn provided no answer he turned to the boy to her left. “Jacob. What did I tell the class?”

 

Clearly flustered Jacob stuttered but blurted out, word for word, what Kurt had said on the Monday.

 

“Thank you.” Kurt looked back to Quinn and ground out “Five days. Miss Fabray and not one word about missing practice. Five days, staring today. Next time I hear you will cost you this quarter’s grade. If it happens again it  _will_  be the semester.”

 

Kurt passed his eyes over the students in his room, trying not to look directly at Blaine, he found himself gritting his teeth. He knew part of him was over-reacting and being a little irrational but, in that moment, he didn’t care. The boy needed as much support as he could get, especially since it was fairly obvious Sebastian wasn’t going to be providing any, and he had no idea what kind of help he was receiving at home. Kurt made a mental note to ask Blaine that later and find out.

 

Kurt reined in his temper, repeating a calming mantra to himself. He had faced difficulties his entire school career and he wasn’t about to stand at the side and allow to same thing to happen to poor, kind-hearted, Blaine. “Gossip is for the small minded and petty. There will be no tolerance for it within these walls. Any more outburst from  _anyone_  and they will find themselves joining Miss Fabray after school.” He held out his hand to the side, silently, for Sebastian to hand him the paperwork for him to sign. “Am I understood?”

 

After hearing various murmurs, and variations, of yesses he bent down and signed the papers Sebastian had brought with him and said to him, softly, in such a cold voice that the hair on the back of Blaine’s neck stood on end. “Smythe. That goes for you as well. One word and you’ll be suspended again.”

 

Sebastian barked out a small “Yes, Sir” and fled the room.

 

For some, unknown, reason Blaine didn't fall asleep in English that day.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday guys! I've now written up to ch17 so this is getting a little longer than I originally had planned! Once I've finished it completely I'll up the updating schedule to twice a week but for now. It's my Sunday present to you! Enjoy :)

 

Kurt cursed himself the entire of his journey home –  _God, fantastic job on keeping your distance there_ – during his dinner for one –  _You have to stop showing favourites Hummel!_ – When walking his dogs –  _You need a date. Or to get laid. One of the two. Neither with a seventeen year old boy_ \- and for the complete duration of the open mic night. All his convincing and berating was to no avail.

 

He couldn’t get Blaine out of his head.

 

It was no surprise to him when he found Blaine sat outside the Lima Bean once more. He had walked the dogs earlier than night so didn’t take them out but  _for some reason_ found himself wanting to walk the same sort of time he had last week when he stumbled across Blaine, outside of school, for the first time. He stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted the back of Blaine’s head, talking into his tea once more. He kept shaking his head as if he was carrying on a conversation. Kurt took a few steps closer until he could hear Blaine talking.

 

“I just… I can’t help but wonder why he won’t… It’s not that I want him to. I can’t even look at him right now but he did say he loved me… Shouldn’t he, at least, be trying? Maybe that means he never really loved me at all.” Blaine took a deep breath and continued his ramblings.

 

“I suppose it’s a relief in some ways… I’m really not sure I love him at all. Sometimes I struggled to even like him.”

                                                                           

He saw Blaine shake his head, as if ridding himself from that train of thought, and he flattened his palms on the table in front of him, shifting around in his chair, and looked up into the dark sky, voice continuing, “You should have seen Quinn today, Nanna. She was horrid. You would have had her hide for the things she was saying but Kurt, oh you remember Kurt, right? My absolutely stunning teacher? He was so…”

 

The sound of Blaine’s voice got quieter as Kurt focused on the fact Blaine thought he was stunning.  _God, Blaine, with the way you look and you think this old man is stunning? Shit. Not good at all, Hummel. Let’s go home. Now!_

His head might have been telling him one thing but his feet had other ideas, drawing him closer to Blaine’s table and before he could talk himself out of it he heard his own voice call his student’s name. “Blaine?”

 

Blaine whirled ‘round in his chair, almost falling off it in his surprise, he smiled sheepishly at him. “Mr Hummel.”

 

“Hi yourself. Bit late to be out here again, isn’t it?” He looked down at him, a smile playing on his features.

 

“Oh, um. Yeah.”

 

“Brother, again?”

 

“No, no. Coop’s fine. I, er, couldn’t see the stars from my window so I took a walk and found myself here again.”

 

Kurt couldn’t stop the smile blossoming on his face; this boy couldn’t get any more adorable if he tried. The smile he was aiming at Kurt was simply gorgeous and Kurt felt his cheeks begin to ache at the stretch of his own grin. His light chuckle sounded around them and he blurted out the first thing on his mind. “That’s adorable, Blaine.  _You’re_  adorable.”

 

Kurt watched as Blaine’s eyes crinkled with mirth and he made a little vow to himself to try and bring that smile to Blaine’s face as often as he could. He watched as Blaine blushed a little and nodded his head toward the empty chair opposite him.

 

Kurt took a seat and watched as Blaine sipped from the drink in front of him. “No dogs tonight?”

 

“No, no. They’ve had their walk. What brings you to the stars then?”

 

“Um… My Nanna died a few years back and we always used to talk to the stars together, she told me my Grandpa was up there looking down on me, making sure my dreams were pleasant. So I like to talk to her too, every now and again.” He took another sip from his drink. “Nanna Liz. She was the best.”

 

“My mom’s name was Elizabeth.” Flew out of his mouth before he could stop himself.  _God, Kurt. Shut up. You’re not supposed to be making date-conversation._

 

Before Kurt could backpedal to rush himself out of the corner he had put himself into Blaine responded. “She was the only person to just… Not care that I was gay. When I told her she just told me that I better bring home a man with a good appetite, she wouldn’t be feeding a rabbit. I was still the same person, she still loved me.”

 

“I was lucky. I had a lot of friends, even when I went to New York. I moved with Rachel for support. I’m glad you had your Nanna.” Kurt found himself looking down at his fingers splayed out on the table between them, trying not to look up at the young boy with his heart eyes.

 

“Rachel…” A light dawned in Blaine’s eyes as he made the connection. “Miss Berry? Miss Berry was your roommate?”

 

“Yeah, she’s my best friend.” He looked away as if he wasn’t comfortable giving Blaine that information.

 

“She’s been so lovely about everything, so far, I’m sure she was wonderful to have as support.” Blaine looked down at his half full cup. “Support helps…”

 

And, just like that, Kurt found himself reaching across the table between them, taking Blaine’s hand in his, words he hadn’t had any intention of telling the boy came falling from his lips. “They’re idiots, Blaine; don’t listen to anything they say. You should never feel embarrassed, or ashamed, you’ve done absolutely nothing wrong sweetheart. It… happens. It can just happen, and it’s no-one’s fault.”

 

 _Don’t cry, Blaine, just don’t cry. Not in front of him._  The thoughts circled around Blaine’s mind even as he felt the tears escaping from his eyes and running down his cheeks. “I’m just so scared. No-one wants to talk to me, only Sam and Tina and they’ve been so wonderful it’s just, they’re all making fu- fun of me.” Blaine’s breath hitched and Kurt caught the errant tears trailing down Blaine’s cheeks with his free hand, fighting the want to pull Blaine around to him to hold him close.

 

Kurt knew he shouldn’t be doing this but he couldn’t help but try to sooth the boy. “Shhh, it will be okay, sweetheart, it will.”

 

Blaine shook his head, pushing Kurt’s hand off with his movements. “No, it won’t. Cooper’s so angry he hardly talks to me anymore. Tina just doesn’t… get it. Sam’s been wonderful but that’s because of his brother an- an- and” Blaine sort of collapsed in on himself back in the chair and Kurt knew his inner battle was lost. He scooted his chair around next to Blaine, and pulled Blaine’s hand until Blaine was safe on his lap and in his arms. He began to rock the boy gently in his grip.

 

“It’s okay, I promise, it will get better. It might not be instantaneous but things will work out, you’ll see.” One hand was strong on Blaine’s back, rubbing up and down and then in clear, soothing, circles, the other holding onto the back of Blaine’s neck holding his head against his shoulder. All Kurt could think was that someone should be worrying about this boy. When the bullying got too bad at school he came home to his dad, his dad that loved him, and he knew he wasn’t alone but Blaine was feeling so isolated by everyone and Kurt remembered what it was like when he felt that he had no-one, before he adopted a ‘born this way’ motto to life, and his heart just broke. He was such a tiny little thing and some things were just going to be so hard for him,  _poor Blaine_.

 

The tears finally began to subside but Blaine continued to hold on to Kurt, his hand curled around his upper arm, just breathing softly, his breath was drifting across Kurt’s neck and he was struggling to suppress his body’s reaction to having Blaine so close to him.  _No, Kurt. Not now._ Internally battling with himself he almost missed Blaine’s shaky words.

 

“Thank you. God. I keep crying for the silliest of reasons.” He sniffed and wiped his damp face with the sleeve of his jacket.

 

“It’s just the hormones, honey. They’ll probably get worse before the end. Don’t ever apologise for needing to get everything out.” Kurt’s soft voice sounded perfect next to Blaine’s ear, just like he imagined it would be and Blaine found himself snuggling in closer, wishing Kurt would carry on talking, and after a short pause his wish was granted. “So why did you need the stars this late at night?”

 

“Another argument with Coop. He thinks the baby would have a better life if I gave her up.” Blaine took another deep breath before continuing. “But… She’s _my_  baby. I don’t see how anyone could love her more than me? I’m scared about what kind of parents the baby would be. I really don’t want to give her up.”

 

“It’s not going to easy bringing up a baby alone. What about school?” But Blaine was already shaking his head, argument at the ready.

 

“I can go to school any time, maybe even at night, just so long as I can get a babysitting and there’s nothing stopping me from working at home in the future. But I’m not worrying about that right now. I just need Baby to be happy and healthy right now. She’s the important thing.”

 

Kurt had to admire his sheer determination and a large part of him wasn’t willing to destroy Blaine’s optimism but he knew, first hand, how hard it could be being a single parent, after all he had lived with one up until he had left for New York almost nine years ago. Maybe that’s part of the reason he was struggling to keep Blaine out from under his skin.

 

Once more Kurt found that his mouth spat out more conversation before his brain was ready to process it. “My parents got married really young. Not much older than you are now and I was a surprise for both of them. Everything was perfect after I was born and it stayed that way… Until my mom got sick. She died just after my eighth birthday.” He paused a little, lost in the memory of his mom and his dad crying, trying to keep it a secret, at night. “It wasn’t easy. Dad had never been that… Hands on with me. He had a business to run. He carried on working and trying to give me absolutely everything, until the very day he died.”

 

They were both silent for a bit, both of them lost in their own thoughts and neither of them wanting to disrupt the comfortable silence. Blaine was the first one to speak. “I’m sorry.”

 

Kurt titled his head away from Blaine’s, trying to catch a glance at Blaine’s face, almost buried in his neck, “Why are you sorry?”

 

“You had it a lot worse than I did.” Blaine attempted a small shoulder shrug from his position on Kurt’s lap and a rumble from Kurt’s chest indicated he had laughed.

 

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about, Blaine. My mom got cancer and my dad just didn’t have the health to match his will.” He shifted a bit in the chair, easing some pressure off of his thighs. “I didn’t tell you that for sympathy, Blaine, I told you… Well, I’m not sure why I told you really.”

 

And he really didn’t. Part of him wanted Blaine to have little snippets of information about himself, letting him know that he was human under the teacher disguise. Circumstances had been clearly different in his life but he knew how hard his dad fought to keep their little family going after his mom had died and he saw the same strength in Blaine.

 

Kurt felt Blaine’s lip brush against his neck, so softly he could have almost imagined it, and his whispered thanks floated softly into the air around them.

 

Kurt allowed his eyes to drift shut, fighting another battle with himself. His heart was screaming to keep Blaine close and protect him from the harsh reality that was banging at the door, trying to burst in and hurt him but his mind was reminding him that Blaine was just seventeen and his student as well, completely off limits. Kurt sighed before nudging Blaine a bit. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you home.”

 

But he was already asleep. His face pressed against Kurt’s neck and his hand curled around the older man’s neck.

 

Kurt struggled to his feet, keeping a tight hold of Blaine, and thanked the stars that Blaine’s home was only a few minutes away. He shut down his brain and just concentrated on how perfect Blaine felt in his arms.

    

* * *

 

 

Blaine awoke just as they were turning onto his street. “We’re almost there honey.” Kurt answered when Blaine made questioning mumbles against his chest.

 

Kurt stopped two houses away from Blaine’s front door and slowly lowered him down to the floor, keeping hold of him until his legs realised they needed to hold him up. Kurt looked up at Blaine’s house and noticed all the lights were still on.

 

“Blaine, does your brother normally stay up this late?”

 

Blaine followed the line of Kurt’s gaze and allowed a small sigh to escape. “He’s probably not awake. Sometimes he works so hard, just passes out, and just forgets to turn off the lights.

 

Kurt couldn’t tell by the tone of Kurt’s voice if this was a regular occurrence or not but he found himself at a loss for words. He watched as Blaine squared his shoulders, preparing the head home. He gave another soft thank you and Kurt just couldn’t keep his mouth shut and send him on his way.

 

“Blaine?” He stepped forward, to where Blaine had stopped and turned around, his hand reaching out to grip Blaine’s shoulder. Blaine looked up at him, eyes shimmering once more. “If you need someone to talk to, please come to me. Okay?”

 

The words Blaine wanted to say were stuck in his throat and so all he could offer Kurt was a nod. The tears that worked their way back to the surface broke slightly and slid down in twin tracks on his face.

 

Kurt pulled Blaine back against his chest, letting him cry out a little more. They stood there for an immeasurable amount of time before Blaine moved away. “Thank you, again. Sometimes it’s just… hard. I don’t want to pretend everything’s okay all the time.”

 

“I know, honey. Life’s not easy or fair sometimes. But we get through it.”

 

He shrugged and then looked back up at Kurt. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop thanking you.”

 

Blaine moved back in to Kurt’s arms and hugged him, his arms wrapping around his waist and clutching his shoulders, hooking his chin over Kurt’s shoulder, so focused on keeping holding of him that he almost missed his reply. “Never thank me. I’ll always be here.”

 

Kurt broke away from Blaine gently. “Time to get home, Blaine. It’s late.”

 

With a confused look on his face, but no other words, Blaine turned around a jogged up to his front door before going inside.

 

Kurt stood outside; watching the house, long after all the lights had been turned out.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Simply put guys, I made a boo-boo! I named one of Kurt's dogs Quinn and then I introduced Quinn Fabray! Soooo, because I like good 'ol bitchy Quinn. I've decided that Kurt now had Bree and Puck instead :) I'm reeeeally surprised no-one called me out on it! Haha. Now. I'm doing lates at work this week so I should have enough time in the morning to edit, and check, the next few chapters. I'm hoping to update on Wednesday afternoon and the normal on Sunday as well! End of my ranting! Enjoy lovelies :)

 

Normally, on Saturdays, Blaine went ‘round to Tina’s and they either went to the local shopping mall, hung out at the Lima Bean or just had a film-fest all day but Blaine had woken that morning feeling sicker than he ever had done before. Every time he moved his stomach threatened to empty its contents over whichever room he had managed to drag himself to. His head and started to pound and he just felt sea-sick all the time. He knew the amount of stress he was under was contributing to how awful he felt but being Baby certainly wasn’t helping matters. Blaine rolled over, on the small sofa, as slowly as he could to stop the room from spinning.

 

_Baby, Daddy really needs a break right now. If it’s you making everything topsy turvey I’d appreciate if you’d stop for a bit._

 

Blaine buried his face into a cushion on the end of the sofa, thinking over how much things had changed in the past three weeks. Three weeks ago he thought Sebastian and he were… Well, a couple. Clearly he’d got that wrong in the first instance and college was being put off, for a while, at least until Baby was ready to go to school. The more Blaine thought about each thing, the more he thought he should be upset by it all but he really wasn’t.

 

Blaine would never deny that not having Sebastian, or his support, hurt. Sebastian had been the one to chase after Blaine, the first one to tell him that he was attractive, not just a bit of a weirdo, Blaine had resisted for the best part of the year, not liking Sebastian nearly as much as he seemed to like Blaine. Sebastian had grown on Blaine though… But he’d never fallen for the boy. Sebastian told Blaine he loved him all the time but, looking back, it seemed that it had only said it to get into Blaine’s pants and that was partially his fault too. Every time Sebastian went on about how much Blaine meant to him the only way Blaine could get him to shut up, mainly to assuage his own guilt, he took his clothes off. Blaine was very guarded with his affections, only giving his love to those that he felt could take care of it and by the way things were going now he’d done the right thing with Sebastian’s affections.

 

_Daddy can do a few things right, Baby, Seb is not a good guy. He doesn’t want… either of us._

After the incident in the courtyard Cooper had insisted on an order of protection to be put in place. Using Blaine’s… condition and Sebastian’s volatile temper as reasons. Blaine just didn’t have the energy to fight with Cooper over it all; it was hard enough thinking up new rebuttals every time Cooper brought up the baby.

 

And, boy, that had been happening a lot. Constantly. Over every little thing. Last night they had done nothing but shout at each other, neither of them wanting to back down. Cooper had gone through many stages of trying to get Blaine to see his opinion of the situation. He had suggested, quite calmly at the time, that Blaine might want to look in to terminations and Blaine had looked his brother dead in the eye, saying simply, “no, Coop. I can’t.”

 

That had ended that discussion pretty suddenly but Cooper’s latest campaign was for the baby to be put up for adoption, grasping at every argument he could think of. Blaine rested his hand on his, still flat, belly and thought back to his conversation with Kurt and his dad. He had a few questions for him about how his dad had managed it on his own and he wondered if Kurt would be willing to tell him any more information.

 

 _Oh Baby, imagine is Seb was more like Kurt. He wouldn’t be pretending we don’t exist. I bet he’d just want to take care of us._  Tears escaped from beneath his closed eyes, he furrowed his brows and opened them – changing tact –  _Although I could just be hoping, Baby, and he’s a teacher. He’s an adult! He probably just thinks I’m a stupid boy._

 

Blaine curled back up into a ball on the sofa, so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the doorbell go.

 

* * *

 

Cooper stood in his bedroom, searching ‘round for his suitcase, going over and over in his mind how he was going to break the news to his baby brother that he needed to leave for almost a week for a series of, very well paid, workshops in San Francisco. He flexed his arms above his head, wondering where on earth he could have left it, when his attention was distracted by the doorbell. He passed Blaine’s still body on the sofa, clocking that he was watching Beauty and The Beast, the suitcase could wait. He wanted to cuddle up to his brother once he had gotten rid of whoever was at the door.

 

Cooper opened the door and his fingers gripped into its frame when he took in the sight that greeted him.

 

* * *

 

 

When his dad had presented his latest plan to Sebastian, his jaw dropped and a part of him reeled back from the mere suggestion that his parents had thought up but another part just wanted to give in and let them get on with whatever they wanted to do. Unfortunately the part that was horrified with his father was a very small part and preferred to just hide in a corner of his mind rather than fight. Sebastian wanted to go to Princeton more than he wanted anything else. He had asked for their brochure’s every year, when his birthday came around, since he was seven. It was a tradition, and an expectation, in his house. Nothing was going to stand in his way so he hardly took in what his father had said, just that it would be a solution to this ginormous fuck up, and just nodded his agreement.

Sebastian watched as his father prepared him, false sincerity written on his face and a speech prepared for the oncoming confrontation. He instructed Sebastian to do the same. They were going to present themselves at the Andersons home toward the end of the week and sort out this whole mess.

 

The first thing Cooper did upon seeing both the Smythe men on his door step was slam it in their faces. Sebastian looked across at his face, steely determination showing, and rang the doorbell again.

 

Cooper was torn between answering the door and smacking both men or just ignoring it and getting under the blanket with Blaine. He was gritting his teeth when Blaine appeared from around the corner, looking a little under the weather. “Coop? Is there someone at the door?”

 

Cooper looked over his shoulder at his little brother, as much as the situation was shitty he loved Blaine with all he had and it killed him seeing him this way. “It’s Smythe and his dad.”

 

Blaine’s knees almost buckled under him and he had to lean against the door frame of the living room to keep himself upright. He looked up, through suddenly damp lashes, “Oh.”

 

Cooper nodded his head, he features softening from their previous anger, trying to ignore the incessant knocking at the door behind him. “I know, Blainey. Want me to tell them where to go?”

“No. They don’t take no for an answer. Let’s get this over with.”

 

“All right, B.” Cooper threw the door open just as Mr Smythe was preparing to knock again.

 

Cooper stared at the men, waiting for them to speak. “Mr Anderson. Might my son and I speak with you and your brother?”

 

Cooper glared at them, showing the full measure of his disdain, looking Mr Smythe straight in the eyes, showing he wouldn’t be intimidated by the man’s social stature or his size. “Your  _son”_  Cooper hissed “is not allowed any contact with Blaine.”

 

“Pardon my instance, Mr Anderson, but I believe with both of us present no harm, or hurt, will come to Blaine. In fact I can guarantee that Sebastian will not even  _move_  unless given my permission. Will you, now, consent to this meeting?”

 

“I’m not happy with this, Smythe.” Cooper was seeing nothing but false expressions covering both men’s faces, inspiring no trust to what the elder was promising. “I don’t think this is a good idea at all.”

 

“I believe it’s imperative that this meeting take place.” Mr Smythe was not taking Cooper’s reluctance as a hint, his body language showing that he was confident that Cooper would be allowing both of them entry to the home.  Cooper glanced over his outstretched arm to see Blaine’s reaction and once he had nodded his acceptance Cooper drooped his arm and watched as Blaine turned around and dropped back onto the sofa, not chancing a look toward Sebastian.

 

“Please, come in gentleman.” Cooper laced his words with sarcasm, making it absolutely transparent that he didn’t want them in his home. He watched at Mr Smythe strode into the house like he owned it and Sebastian returned Blaine’s favour by not even bothering to look at the other boy. Cooper realised he was going to need a quick grip on his temper to get through this without it ending up in a shouting match.

 

“Blaine, how are you feeling?” Blaine was shocked by the tone in Sebastian’s father voice but as he looked up he saw the sincerity on his face but something more sinister glittering behind his blue eyes.

 

“Not well, to be honest.” Blaine shifted, trying to get comfortable again. “Thank you for asking.”

 

Seemingly satisfied with Blaine’s answer he moved to sit in the chair opposite whilst Cooper, preventing any chance that Sebastian would be anywhere near his brother, sat down next to Blaine.

 

“What is it that you two want?” Cutting straight to the chase, Cooper spared no-one. He was under no illusions that this was just a social call. Given the way the men were dressed and how they were acting toward the two other men, and, therefore he was not going to be a gracious host. There would be no offers of any drinks and he would not be attempting to make them feel welcome.  _They weren’t._  If Sebastian had acted in a different manner toward Blaine the situation would call for different actions, but he was a little prick as far as Cooper was concerned.

 

“The reason we are here, Mr Anderson, is to offer Blaine a choice.” The elder man’s tone was calm and even, his gaze never dropping from Blaine’s face.

 

“What might that be?” Cooper’s back was already up, every instinct he had to protect Blaine was going into hyper drive, waiting for what the man had to offer.

 

“As you are aware, Sebastian is a candidate for Princeton. His invitation of acceptance arrived only last week. I’m not sure if you are familiar with the standards of the College but they do not allow anything out of the ordinary through their doors. Especially when a course requires a large amount of travelling, they don’t like any of their students to have any dependants.”

 

Blaine shared a look with his brother, feeling his stomach start to swoop and feeling slightly queasy about what the man was trying to say. His mind was screaming at him with worry and he placed a protective hand on top of his belly.

 

“Now we do respect Blaine’s right to choose what is best for him. I would like you, both, to consider what might also be best for Sebastian. We are willing to fund any financial burden, not limited to only medical costs, should Blaine decide to terminate the situation.

 

Blaine’s face drained of all colour and his heart plummeted to his stomach, both swooping together. He struggled to speak. “I- I won’t be having an abortion. Whether it is paid for or not.”

 

Cooper sat next to his brother, stunned and speechless. How could a man of his age and stature possibly be suggesting buying his brother off? Cooper finally found his voice, after a long look at Blaine, and climbed to his feet, walking toward the front door. “I think it’s time you left now. This conversation is over.”

 

However Mr Smythe didn’t move out of his chair, instead he leant forward, arms resting on his legs, towards where Blaine was sat, tears clouding his vision, hand still curled over his belly. He said, earnestly. “Having a baby at your age won’t be easy Blaine, not alone and especially not as a man. Think of everything you’ll miss. You’ll be stuck at home with a fatherless baby under a mountain of debt. You don’t want that. You should have no worries except college and moving on from this. You have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t throw it away on a careless situation.”

 

“My baby isn’t a situation Mr Smythe. She’s a baby, and she’s mine. I won’t end her life just because it would make yours and your son’s  _easier._ ”

 

Before Mr Smythe could formulate his reply Cooper stood between the two, blocking his view of Blaine and ending the conversation. “I have already asked you once. Get out of my house. Now.”

 

Mr Smythe looked up into Cooper’s emotionless eyes, he knew when he was defeated. They had a plan B in case this was the reaction they were met with but now was not the time to try and put it into place. He got up on his feet, looked down once more at Blaine and then a glance across at his son to make sure he was following before leaving the house without another word.

 

Cooper was shaking, he had no outlet for his anger, not wanting to scare Blaine he resisted the urge to punch the nearest surface to him. He stalked over to the door and slammed it behind the Smythe’s before walking back to Blaine, grabbing the blanket he had been under previously in the day, and covered both of them. Pulling Blaine into his arms, the sound of Blaine’s sobs the only thing stopping him from causing damage to one, if not both, of the men that had just left their home.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kurt found himself in a small restaurant that Saturday night, it was supposed to be a date, he was supposed to be enjoying the company of another adult, wondering where it could go and if they had a chance at something. But what was he doing instead? Sitting in a restaurant, eating a decent meal and not paying a blind bit of attention to what the man opposite him was saying. He’d been doing quite well up until about twenty minutes ago when a man had sat down three tables away and had laughed at something his partner had said and his laugh had sounded exactly like Blaine’s. Kurt found himself staring at the table wishing it was Blaine so that he would be able to go over and just… see him.

 

 _God, Kurt. What are you thinking? Hoping its Blaine. He’s just a boy._ Kurt internally groaned at himself, something that was happening more and more often the more he saw of Blaine. He tried to refocus his attention on his date.

 

Jesse was… Well, he was a nice enough guy. He liked to talk about himself… A lot. He was a choir coach at another school and Kurt found himself thinking back to Blaine singing in Glee and how sultry his voice was. Kurt couldn’t help but think that Jesse was just a male version of-

 

“Jesse. Forgive my rudeness. You were talking about your ex earlier. Andy? Is that short for…”

 

“Andrea. It would be a travesty to only allow one gender to opportunity to be with me. I enjoy the company of both men and women.”

 

Kurt laughed at the brunette across from him. “I think I’d like you to meet someone.”

  

“Really?” Jesse was intrigued.

 

“Yes. Her name is Rachel Berry.” He smiled at Jesse and saw his chest exhale with a slight sigh. Kurt assumed that Jesse wasn’t used to getting so blatantly brushed off.

 

“Why do you want me to meet Rachel Berry?”

 

“You’d get on well.” Kurt inhaled deeply, thinking that honesty would be the best policy here. “I’m sorry, I’ve enjoyed tonight but my mind hasn’t been 100% on you and that isn’t fair to you.”

 

Jesse thought about letting Kurt continue but the truth was he found Kurt very attractive, what man wouldn’t, but they didn’t have a lot in common and Kurt didn’t talk enough to be able to maintain his attention for long periods of time.  “I understand. If you think Rachel Berry is more suited to me then I will trust your judgement. It is a shame, however, the pastry here is very agreeable.

 

Kurt let relief flood his face. “Well, why don’t we finish here and I will fill you in on the wonder that is Rachel Berry?”

 

Jesse looked up, a small smile on his lips. “Okay.”

 

With the pressure off Kurt relaxed in his chair and proceeded to tell Jesse St James about his best friend. If he couldn’t have what, or rather who, he wanted the least he could do was help his best friend.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a slight possibility that I won't be around to update on Sunday this week so I'm giving you two chapters today! Enjoy :)

The following week was Thanksgiving. Blaine could hardly believe so much time had passed; everything was just… strange, at the moment. His days seemed endless, they were excruciatingly long and filled with new problems to attempt to solve and countless reams of gossiping and whispers, they seemed to last forever and yet the weeks were flying by.

 

He had heard nothing from Sebastian since the impromptu ‘visit’ from both Smythe men. If he was honest he hadn’t been expecting Sebastian to suddenly turn over a new leaf and dig out some concern for them both but an explanation of why his father had behaved the way he did toward Blaine wouldn’t have gone amiss but there was nothing, no word, not even a measly text, and he could barely look at Blaine in the school hallways. Not having Sebastian there suited Blaine just fine, he knew when he wasn’t wanted, but it would have been nice to have someone else there to rely on, other than his brother.

 

Cooper had been, strangely, supportive since Sebastian’s fathers little speech. He had been in and out of town on various different workshops. They had sat down together and worked out a budget and Blaine couldn’t fault Cooper working excessively at all at the moment, he was determined to be able to provide for Blaine _and_ Baby. Cooper had come with Blaine to the first ultrasound and they had both cried when the wand found Baby and her heartbeat, the sound filled the room and both men fell in love a little bit more.

 

 _Hey Baby, we’re going to need to name you soon. What about Leah? Or Sally… Any of those sound good? Of course we could go the Dirty Dancing route, Baby. Hm? Frances is a bit of a stuffy name though._ Blaine wrinkled his nose at the idea of his friends calling his Baby ‘Frances’ _Veto that one, Baby._ Blaine continued scrolling through the naming website that Tina had sent him a link to, hoping something would stand out to him soon.

 

Blaine was sitting out in the courtyard, in the sunshine, waiting for Tina and Sam to finish their classes so they could go to lunch together. He had gotten out of his lesson early to return his Cheerio’s uniform to Coach Sylvester. Ever since his pregnancy became school news the girls he spent every evening with, at practice, wouldn’t even make eye contact with him and they had asked him, not so nicely, to step down because they would be searching for his replacement that evening.

 

Blaine breathed in sharply, refusing the let tears fall, he was trying to keep himself getting upset about the little things and he wasn’t particularly fond of the Cheerio’s. They could be downright nasty. None of them had made a single effort toward Blaine since ‘that day’ Even Santana’s sort-of apology hadn’t redeemed any of them in Blaine’s eyes. He started scrolling through the G’s…

 

 _Oh, don’t fret Baby. Gertrude and Gill are ruled out._ Blaine continued to scroll through his phone when he was startled out of his private bubble by a loud noise, a loud noise that sound suspiciously like Sam… As Blaine stood to his feet he saw Sam’s back, his fist lifted in the air and he was looking down at someone. Blaine tried to move closer and his name was out of his mouth before he even had time to contemplate any consequences.

 

“Seb?”

 

* * *

 

 

Sam and Tina had decided to take a different route to the courtyard to meet Blaine after Chem lab but they had gotten caught in the stream of hundreds of students deciding to go the same way. Sam grabbed Tina’s hand and tried manoeuvre them both through the moving bodies, blocking Tina’s small frame from taking most of the elbows and bags hitting her. They had gotten just past the Science block when Sam stopped dead in his tracks, Tina walking straight into his back “Sam? Why’d you stop?”

 

“Staying out of the way of scum.” Sam raised his voice to be heard over the crowd and several passing students craned their heads to try and see where Sam’s comment was directed. Tina stood on her tip toes to see over her friend’s shoulder and narrowed her eyes when she saw Sebastian and a few others standing by a set of lockers to the left of the hallway, next to the exit to the Courtyard. “Let’s go, Blaine’ll be waiting for us.”

 

 

However Sam had seen something that Tina had missed, Sebastian’s arm was slung around Quinn’s shoulders, just casually, like that was the norm and after the way Sebastian had treated Blaine it more than grated on his last nerve. It was the first time he had seen Sebastian since Tina had let slip about him and his dad trying to bribe Blaine into getting rid of his baby and that alone made Sam see red but to see Sebastian cuddled up to the head cheerleader as if he did it every day and nothing had changed was too much. He loved Blaine like a brother and the way Sebastian was acting was just wrong. So he got mad.

 

“Shit, _Baz_ , you move on quick, don’t ya?” Sam didn’t take his eyes off from a suddenly seething Sebastian; he turned to the blonde standing much closer to Sebastian since Sam had walked over. “Better make sure you never need Sebastian to defend you Quinny, but, you know, if things ever do get rough then it’s okay, his daddy will pay your way out of everything! It’ll take less time for him to dump and run than it will for him to unzip his pants, Fabray.”

 

A chorus of groans and laughter filled the hallway behind Sam and he felt a few hands slap him on the back from some of the spectators but Sam didn’t waste any time resting on his laurels and soaking up the attention, he wasn’t doing it for anyone of Blaine, he was angry because his best friend had been treating like shit by a dickhead that wasn’t worth the ground he stood on. “Oh c’mon Sam, it’s not that big a jump from Blainer’s to Quinn. You know what he’s packing.”

 

Sam dropped his backpack and charged at Sebastian, driving the taller teen backwards, crashing out through the double doors and into the courtyard.

 

Tina panicked and got lost in the crowds that were pulsing through the corridors; she grabbed his bag from where he had dropped in on the floor and ran ‘round the corner toward the teachers’ lounge. She knocked on the door and, as luck would have it, the first face she saw was a friendly one.

 

“Mr Hummel! Sam. Sebastian!” Was all Tina managed to get out before Mr Hummel was sliding past her, around the door frame, and making his way down the hallway calling “Where?” behind him and following the direction of her pointed finger and the sounds of erratic students at a rapid pace and with Tina just on his heels.

 

Sebastian had just recovered from Sam’s forceful push and was back on his feet however it wasn’t quick enough to see off the solid right punch that Sam landed on his jaw. Sebastian was back on his ass, legs splayed out in front of him and blinking his eyes at a rapid pace trying to clear his mind of the foggy pain the punch had delivered when he heard Blaine’s voice through the crowd of twenty-odd other students surrounding them.

 

“Sebastian?” He repeated. “Sam?” Blaine looked from one, on the floor, to the other, standing above him, both of them breathing heavily. “What’s going on?”

 

“B. It’s okay. Just, go with Tina.” That didn’t exactly explain the situation and not taking in to account that he couldn’t actually see the girl in the crowd Blaine could easily guess what was going on.

 

“He’s not worth it, Sam, let’s go. Yeah?” Blaine went to grab Sam’s arm to pull him along but Sam flinched away, stepping around Blaine’s position between them to face Sebastian who had climbed back to his feet. Sam turned to the side to tell Blaine to go find Tina, his attention momentarily taken away from Sebastian, when the other teen punched him in the side of his ribs, following up with another blow to the left side of his face. Sam hunched over and pushed Blaine out of the way, into some-one’s arms. 

 

Blaine barely had time to register that it was Mr Hummel’s arms he had fallen in to before he, too, pushed her aside into Tina’s waiting arms who then moved him out of the way.

 

Sam had rammed his shoulder into Sebastian’s gut, like the quarterback he was, and once more knocked him down, he followed his crash with a series of punches until someone pulled Sam off of Sebastian and another football player had hauled Sebastian to his feet.

 

Sam looked to the side to see that it was Santana that had yanked him off of Sebastian, clearly stronger than she was letting on, and he saw that it was Matt that had Sebastian who was still struggling in his arms, trying to get at Sam. It was into this circle that Mr Hummel stepped, his voice calm and low and his eyes shifting between the two boys. “We all need to calm down now and step away from each other.”

 

Sam wiped a mixture of snot and blood away from him nose, keeping his eyes trained on Sebastian who was bleeding from a cut just under his eyebrow and another on his temple. Knowing he had managed to get the better of the taller boy Sam sneered at him, prepared to verbally go for him again if Sebastian tried to smart ass his way out of this. Sam looked on as Matt lost his hold on Sebastian and the other boy charged toward him, once more, and if Sam had blinked at the wrong moment he would have missed Sebastian trying to charge past his English teacher and Mr Hummel calming raising his arm before slamming it into Sebastian’s chest, effectively stopping him in his pathway and causing him to fall to the floor clutching his chest and, in a heartbeat, Mr Hummel was crouching down to his height, fisting the boys collar and sneering at him.

 

“You should probably learn to follow orders now, rather than later, Mr Smythe. I doubt Princeton would want someone so undisciplined. I told you to _stop_.” Mr Hummel’s voice had dropped into the low, authoritative, growl that they had heard too much off in recent weeks and it made the hairs on the back of Sam’s neck stand on end.

 

“If you carry on with this kind of behaviour, your whole life will be learnt the hard way, _Sebastian_.”

 

* * *

 

Blaine watched on as Sebastian almost sucker punched Sam and then hit him once more, he felt the hold around him tighten and the next face he saw was Tina’s as she held her arms out to catch him as he was pushed, he saw Santana grip his upper arm to keep him in place, tears were falling down Tina’s face and Blaine really couldn’t grasp the situation.

 

Through the haze of people Blaine realised the first set of arms that had held him, and subsequently pushed him out of the way, had been Kurt’s because he was now standing between the two feuding boys telling them to calm down.

 

For a small moment of silence, bar the heavy breathing of the boys, everything was calm but then Blaine watched as Sebastian struggled his way out of his friend’s hold and charge at Sam before Kurt’s arm stretched out and collided with the boy’s chest, knocking the taller teen off of his feet.

 

Kurt stood behind Sebastian and pulled him up from the floor and spoke in a chilling voice. “I won’t remind you again Mr Smythe.” Sebastian climbed to his feet and tried to wrestle his arm free of the teacher’s grip but it just served to anger Kurt even more and his hold tightened as he gritted his teeth and ground out that it was going to be taught the hard way then.

 

Blaine felt someone wipe their hands across his cheeks and he looked up to find that it was Santana clearing his face from the traces of his tears whilst Tina still held on to him, his small hiccups the only sound left in the suddenly silent group. Kurt span his body around, searching for the source of the sound and finding the two girls flanking a visibly upset Blaine, Kurt jumped to the conclusion that Blaine must have been hurt in the scuffling and, if possible, his hold on Sebastian got even harsher, anger flaring once more.

 

He locked eyes with Santana. “Miss Lopez, take him to the nurse.” He side eyed Sam, quietly standing less than two feet away trying to stem the flow of blood coming from his nose, and made another decision. “Evans. Go with them to the nurse and then take yourself to Miss Berry’s office.”

 

He eased off of Sebastian and took a step back. “I suggest you get yourself cleaned up.” 

 

* * *

 

Santana walked beside the two friends, not really paying attention to their hushed, and tear-filled, conversation. Her attention was on the boy the other side of her, two steps in front of them, head bent and shoulders in a defensive slouch. She quickly hopped to his side and put her hand on his arm, startling him and causing him to flinch away from her.

 

“You did good, Evans. Never knew you had such a right hook on you. How’s that nose?”

 

“Bloody. It’s not a big deal” Sam shrugged off the feeling of tension in his cheek, knowing it would bruise but dismissing it completely.”

 

Santana surprised both of them with the sincerity in her voice. “Very. Big. Deal. That meerkat faced bitch needed to be brought down a peg and you did it whilst standing up for Blanderson. It was kinda sweet. Not smart but hella sweet.”

 

Sam’s step faltered beside the cheerleader and he looked over at it. “Thanks… I think. Be careful, Santana, think you’re getting soft.

 

She arched one, tweezed, eyebrow at him. “You wish Trouty-Mouth.” And swept past him into the nurses’ office.

  

* * *

 

Once more Sebastian Smythe found himself staring at the clock outside Miss Berry’s office awaiting his sentence, so to speak, _Fuck. Fucking Evans. My father is going to murder me brutally in my sleep. Although he might not even give me that reprieve. Fuck, I’m never going to get to Princeton at this rate. Although this was all the blonde-wonder’s fault. He started it all. Fuck._

 

Sebastian’s lip was bleeding and he could also feel trickles of blood coming from a couple of cuts on his face. His head was pounding and he could see how scraped his knuckles were.  He shifted in the hard chair and winced as his stomach reminded him where Sam’s body had slammed into him but his injuries were the least of his worries. His interview at Princeton was in serious danger of being withdrawn completely so he doubted the uncomfortable feeling in the bottom of his stomach was due entirely to Sam but almost due to his dreams slowing crumbling in front of him. He continued clock watching as Mr Hummel stomped into Miss Berry’s office once more and he knew he was going to get hit with his second suspension soon. 

 

* * *

 

The nurse took one look at the four teens stood in her office, knowing full well one of them was pregnant and that they weren’t troublesome kids – well allowances could be made for the Lopez girl – and put two and two together.

 

She hustled Blaine and Tina into the screened off area and focused on Sam. “Sit down Mr Evans.” She began to gently, but firmly, tend to his bloody nose. Once she had cleaned off the dried blood she said, matter of factly, “It’s not broken but there’s going to be some ugly bruising coming up in the next day or so.”

 

She handed him an ice pack and continued. “Hold that over your cheek, it should help some of the bruising and try not to look down or tilt your head back too far. The bleeding should stop soon.”

 

Sam nodded his understanding, slowly, forcing away and shocked smile when he felt Santana slip her hand into his and squeezed gently.

 

* * *

 

Kurt was pacing back and forth from once of Rachel’s office to the end, swearing gently under his breath, attempting to calm his rising temper.

 

Rachel sat perched on the edge of her desk, knowing she needed to give her best friend a few moments. Kurt was normally a mild mannered man but there were a few things that automatically got his back up and violence in high school was definitely one of them. When Kurt was very angered his temper was almost deadly and had evolved from the ill-timed ‘bitch fits’ of his youth into a cause for alarm as an adult.

 

At that particular moment in time Kurt wasn’t sure what was fuelling his anger. He had guessed earlier, even going to far as to make a comment to Rachel when they were working late one night, that it would only be a matter of time before Sam and Smythe came to blows and, clearly, he had been right. Sam had been an almost constant shadow of Blaine, trying to shield him from the harsher comments and stares as best he could.

 

_Blaine._

 

“Have you got enough from me, Rach? Smythe’s outside. I’ll go get Sam.”

 

Rachel barely had enough time to look up, let alone answer the man, before he was leaving her office.

 

She walked over to the, still open, door and motioned Sebastian inside.

 

* * *

 

Blaine was lying on his side, screwing his eyes shut, listening to the sound of movement in the outer office. Tina had been sent to her class about ten minutes ago and, after a short argument, Santana had followed her lead a few moments ago. It was just Blaine and Sam left in the office, separated, and Blaine felt himself drifting off, floating in-between consciousness and sleep, when there was a different noise in the office where Sam was, and Blaine could barely make out the sound of the voices in there.

 

* * *

 

Kurt asked Hunter to cover his English class for him and then headed across the school to the nurses’ office. The sight that greeted him was Sam slumped in a plastic chair, ice pack balancing over his face, head tilted to the side to keep it in place. “How’re you feeling, Sam?”

 

“Feel like I went ten rounds with Juggernaut.” He laughed a bit, “but other than that. I’m good.”

 

Kurt smiled, despite not really understanding the reference, but his smile soon dropped when he realised if Rachel’s suspended Smythe she would have to do the same with Sam. “You know Miss Berry is going to have to suspend you, Mr Evans.” Teacher mode back in place, Kurt tried to wipe his emotions from his face.

 

“Yeah, I know.” He sounded more than resigned to his fate and Sam shrugged from behind the ice pack covering half of his face. “Worth it.”

 

“When Nurse West says you’re free to go, please head to Miss Berry’s office.” Kurt patted his shoulder lightly and moved away to find Nurse West.

 

 

* * *

 

 

There was a soft knock on the wall beside the closed curtain and Blaine heard himself mumble something, he didn’t even think it was words and whoever it was slid the curtain aside, closed it behind them, and stood beside the bed he was lying on.

 

A strong hand ran over his hair, down his neck, across his shoulder and tugged the blanket that had fallen off of him, pulling it so that it covered him once more and Blaine just wished whoever it was would just leave. He just needed to be alone.

 

“Blaine, are you okay?”

 

Blaine froze, disbelieving that it was actually Kurt that had come to see him, he didn’t look up until he said his name once more. Blaine opened his eyes, tears pooling in them once again, and Kurt could only gather the young boy up, once again, into his arms. 


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're reading this update thinking 'I'm sure I'm missing something' I uploaded Chapter Nine about ten minutes ago. Equally if you're reading this note and HAVEN'T seen a conversation where Blaine talks about what to name his baby, go read Chapter Nine first :) Enjoy!

Blaine found out later that both boys had been suspended, due to the fighting, for three days each. It was hours later, when Tina had called his home to see how he was doing and, subsequently, spilled all the gossip about what had happened after Blaine had been sent home. It wasn’t hard to guess what was floating around the school after the fight and the suspension didn’t surprise Blaine either. Considering how strict Miss Berry was about violence in school property but the fight wasn’t what had Blaine’s head in a spin, it was what had happened in the Nurse’s office.

 

Kurt had held him, against his chest, for a long time, letting Blaine just cry into his shirt, neither of them saying a word and when the bell rang, signally that classes were changing, Kurt had kissed the top of Blaine’s head and let him go, just like that. Not a word as a goodbye.

 

Blaine’s mind had been blissfully blank for the rest of the day, a rare occurrence for him lately, almost afraid to think about what had happened that afternoon between the two of them, scared that he would overthink it or mentally add in things that hadn’t happened but he was home now, lying back in his, seemingly constant, position on the couch watching Oprah fuss over some celebrity, his thoughts now loud and proud and a million miles away.

 

 _God, Baby. He just let me cry on him. I know all I do is cry lately so it was just… Oh. It was lovely. He took care of me, Baby… and he smells really good._ Blaine was getting used to having mental conversations with his Baby but he didn’t want to gush over his crush too much to her but, oh, he could have stayed like that for hours.

 

A deep sigh shook through him, _Oh shush Blaine. It’s not like he… Well, he must care a little. He stayed all that time just holding me. Which was very nice of him._ Blaine switched conversations partners from Baby to himself, thinking that would be safer ground, Blaine allowed his mind to drift off into sweet daydreams, imagining that Baby had two daddies that loved each other, almost as much as they loved her, both wanting her…

 

The phone’s shrill ring broke Blaine out of his blissful state and he leant back over the edge of the sofa to pull it out of his cradle.

 

“Andersons.” Blaine could never break out of his parent’s habit of answering their phone with their own name. Cooper had tried but it was just easy for Blaine to slip back into the routine he had, primarily, grown up with.

 

“Blaine. I am your saviour.” Blaine laughed at Sam’s, spot on, Vader impersonation.

 

“Obi-Wan, you are our only hope!” Blaine’s voice went higher than it even had before and even though he didn’t have the penchant for impersonations that his friend did he knew Sam appreciated having another, self-proclaimed, geek around him.

 

“Feeling any better?”

 

Blaine laughed again. “I think that’s my line, Sam. How’s your eye?”

 

“I’m thinking of telling girls I got into a bar fight with a man three times my size, since it looks like my little sister’s attacked one side of my face with purple makeup. Think I’ll get the sympathy date?”

 

“It’s worth a shot.” Blaine paused. “Sam… What you did for me, thank you.” Blaine really didn’t know how else to thank Sam. He had been planning a day long X-Men marathon with the original cartoons as well but he just needed Sam to know that he appreciated what Sam had done for him immediately.

 

“He needed his ass handed to him. He need a hell of a lot more than that, really, but I can only really help with the first bit.” Sam’s tone grew harsh, feeling angry at how callous and unfeeling Sebastian had been toward his best friend.

 

“I know.” There was nothing else he could say about it.

 

“Say, Blaine… What do you think of Santana?”

 

Blaine startled at the unexpected change of subject, he didn’t know what to day. “Lopez, Santana, that Santana?”

 

“You know many other Santana’s?”

 

Blaine laughed at Sam’s clear sarcasm and, over the other side of town, Sam smiled. He loved to make Blaine laugh, make anyone laugh, and it was a sound he scarcely heard the past month. “She’s not bad. I mean, she helped today. So that was nice.”

 

Sam took the plunge, making his way to the main reason he had called Blaine – he had heard from Tina that Blaine was safely home and happier earlier in the day – he took a deep breath. “Do you think she might like me?”

 

“Santana?” It never entered Blaine’s mind to pair those two together. “I don’t know, Sam. I could try and find out for you?”

 

“Covert op mission!?” Sam was excited at the prospect of Blaine helping him.

 

They made plans to do just that and once they had said their goodbyes and hung up Blaine snuggled back down into the soft couch, falling into a light sleep, dreams of Santana, Sam and the odd appearance of steely blue eyes. 

 

* * *

 

Kurt was grading, some truly horrendous, papers when his phone began to ring and, grateful for the interruption, he reached across the table and slid his finger along the screen to answer the call.

 

“Hello.” His best friend’s voice filled his ears and Kurt laughed when the greeting he was given in return was and elongated “Thank youuuuu!”

 

Knowing full well why Rachel was calling but deciding to tease her by asking “For what, dear Rachel?”

 

“You know damned well what I’m thanking you for, Hummel, stupid doesn’t suit you.” There was an answering chucked in Rachel’s faux-biting tone.

 

“Calm down. Is that gratitude I hear in your voice?” Kurt was enjoying this, there was very little he was able to lord over Rachel Berry, she had gotten into NYADA first, she had realised she wanted to follow a teaching route first, she had been promoted within McKingly first, so he was determined to revel in his being right. He had known halfway into their meal that Jesse wasn’t the one for him. Smart, snappy, very goal orientated and, admittedly, very attractive, Jesse was an acquired taste and that was something he had heard about his best friend in abundance since they were sixteen. But Jesse was tall and lean, not short and broad, his hair was freely curly not slicked back like a fifties movie star… So Kurt knew he wasn’t the one for him.

 

Kurt remembered it hitting him, on his one and only date with Jesse – in the middle of dinner no less – that the man he really wanted was still just a boy, still in high school with captivatedly, Bambi-esque, brown eyes,

 

Lost in his own thoughts Kurt had completely missed what Rachel had said. “Sorry, Rach. I’m miles away. What was that?”

 

“Never mind Kurt. I just wanted you to know that I’m thankful, truly.” There was a real happiness in Rachel’s voice, something Kurt hadn’t heard in years.

 

“Anytime, Rach.” And he meant it.

 

Rachel hung up the phone, and looked to the man whos arms she was in, smiling broadly. “I am grateful.”

 

“Talent like mine could only be matched to you, I am as well.” Jesse smiled softly, a gentle side of him that he seldom let out before leaning down to the feisty Brunette, meeting her lips in a deep kiss, promising more, always more.

 

 

* * *

 

Blaine was home alone, Cooper had left on another road trip, this time to New York, to deliver three back to back workshops and he had just woken up from his late afternoon nap. He looked over at the clock on the mantelpiece, it was still quite early, not yet time for dinner but the nap had been so necessary. The emotional stress of the day just called for Blaine to be able to sleep a little bit longer but, for the second time that day, it was the home phone ringing that startled Blaine awake.

 

Blaine had gotten used to being home alone, he didn’t really think much of it, and sometimes he even looked forward to the quiet that followed Cooper leaving. He knew Tina or Sam were just a phone call away so it was never something to panic about and lately Blaine never knew how Cooper was going to react to something so he was happy to have some peace. His brow furrowed as the phone continued to ring, he’d already spoken to both Tina and Sam that afternoon so he wasn’t quite sure who would be ringing and even as he leant over to pick up the phone again there was some niggling doubt in the back of his mind that maybe he shouldn’t answer this phone call.

 

Mrs Smythe’s hard voice greeted him, a false sincerity attempting to warm her tones, and Blaine’s radar went on high alert, bracing himself, knowing nothing good would come from this phone call. It didn’t take long for Sebastian’s mother to get to her point. “Blaine. I’d like to ask you a question, actually a few questions. “She had already dropped off her sincere tone and it was replaced with a much more business-like timbre.

 

“Please, do go ahead.” Even in his rising agitation Blaine would never forget his manners. He played with the hem of his, untucked, polo with his free hand, attempting some kind of distraction.

 

“My husband and I would like to make you an offer. We’d like to provide you with financial support in exchange for your cooperation.”

 

Blaine felt the chill run through his body, hurt racing through his veins and pooling in his stomach. Unable to believe this was happening Blaine stuttered out a few syllables that Mrs Smythe took it upon herself to deliberately misinterpret as Blaine’s agreement and continued to talk.

 

“All you would need to do is to sign a consenting document; it would be legally drawn up by lawyers and solicitors, which would absolve Sebastian of his parental responsibility.” Pausing slightly, Mrs Smythe’s voice kept on going but Blaine, simply, wasn’t listening anymore.

 

_They don’t want us, Baby. They want me to take their money so we won’t… Oh. No, I won’t let them do that to us, Baby.”_

Blaine didn’t want to hear anything more that Mrs Smythe had to say so cut her off with “I can’t. No. Please don’t call me again” and ended the call. Tears sliding down his cheeks, his heart broken. _Oh Baby, I’m so sorry. I promise I will make sure you know that I want you, I’m going to love you so much, and I will always want you._

The phone rang once more, interrupting Blaine’s soothing internal monologue, and without waiting for the person on the other end to start talking Blaine said, in his strongest voice – even thick with tears -, “No. I won’t be taking your money just so Sebastian can walk away with a clear conscience.”

 

There was a deafening since on the end of the phone and then a soft pitch came through. “Please, tell me, Blaine… You didn’t just say what I thought you said.”

 

“Kurt?” Wiping his cheeks, Blaine tried to clear his throat.

 

“Yes. What’s wrong?” Kurt knew he shouldn’t have called Blaine; he shouldn’t have searched for the boy’s home number before he left school that day and he shouldn’t want to get in his car and drive over to the boys house right now.

 

“Nothing.” If Blaine kept to one word answer he might be able to fool him, it had always worked with his parents. Blaine, desperately, wanted to confide in his teacher but he was afraid to say anything at all, his fears outweighing his want for comfort. Blaine longed for someone that would just rest with him, keep him protected and maybe smash up his home phone a little. Blaine let more tears escape into the long silence.

 

There was such an extended pause on the phone that Kurt swore he could hear the sound of Blaine crying but, still, the boy didn’t speak. He couldn’t. Everything was collapsing and he was completely alone right now. His breathing hitched and a sob broke through before he could even contain it and the dam around his emotions snapped, hormones and situation rushed through and Blaine dropped to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

 

* * *

 

Kurt refused to predetermine any consequence of his actions or assign them a value, he couldn’t allow himself to think that was he was doing was wrong, the only thoughts rushing through his mind was that Blaine needed someone, needed him, and from what he could pick out from the boys sobs it seemed that no-one was home with Blaine and it would be staying that was for days. There wasn’t a fibre of Kurt’s being that was okay with leaving Blaine like that, he refused to leave him in that condition by himself, so he drove faster than he should and made it to Blaine’s front door in less than fifteen minutes. 

 

* * *

 

There was nothing but tears, Blaine felt his body being hot and cold at the same time and could feel the tremors wracking through his frame, his throat felt on fire from the sounds he was making and he just couldn’t do anything but cry, tears coating his face and his cardigan, from where he kept wiping it over his face, Blaine grew up in a household where fears and emotions were kept behind their respective doors but he had always had someone to hold him when the tears got too much, Cooper when he was very young and his friends at Dalton when he was sent there. Now, no-one was here, there was no-one to hold him, Blaine felt unloved, he felt unwanted. The only person he had was Baby. He loved his Baby and that was it. It was just the two of them.

  

* * *

 

Kurt found the front door to be locked and he didn’t bother ringing the bell or knocking, he just made his way round the side of the house, through the unlocked gate and around to the back door. He peered inside the window of the door and couldn’t see Blaine at first; he fought the panic rising in him until he heard a loud sniffling. He looked toward the entryway and saw Blaine huddled almost in a ball, head down on his knees and arms curled around his legs.

 

Kurt prepared himself to break the glass of the window to get to him but was surprised when he turned the door handle and found it open. He raced through the narrow corridor, sliding on his knees to where Blaine lie, and gathered him into his arms, once again letting his tears soak through another shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know... I know... Will I ever end a chapter without having Blaine in Kurt's arms. (Lets hope not.)


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, three chapters in one week! Woohoo. (Or not woohoo since I think I have the plague and haven't been at work and that's why there's been a few more updates!) I hope you enjoy this chapter! (and there's a little sneak preview of twelve over at my Tumblr - andablaine - Come join me ;D)

It took Blaine quite a long time to realise he wasn’t crying against the cold hardwood floor anymore, that he wasn’t by himself. When he was younger, after Cooper had left, he sometimes willed for someone to be there so hard that he could almost feel a pair of arms around him and he genuinely thought he had been taken back to that point in his childhood before he heard a low hum come from the body wrapped around him. He was stunned, it was Kurt. Kurt had come to him and Kurt was holding him, once more. After Blaine’s tears had subsided Kurt managed to coerce him into standing up and going over to the sofa, quietly grumbling that he’d never get the creases out of his pants now, one quick look up at Kurt showed that he was only kidding and Blaine let out a breath he wasn’t aware he’d been holding.

 

Kurt sat down on the sofa, the corner closest to the entrance, and pulled Blaine down next to him. He positioned the boy so that his butt was flush with Kurt’s right thigh, his legs slung over Kurt’s and his head on his teacher’s shoulder, just tucked under his chin. Kurt kept his arm curled around Blaine’s shoulder, as if holding him in place and he wrapped a spare hand, lightly, around Blaine’s ankle almost to keep him grounded.

 

The complete absurdity of the situation struck Blaine as almost funny and he let out a small, watery, laugh. Kurt looked down at the boy, almost, in his lap and whilst he was glad his tears had finally stopped he was a bit surprised to hear the odd laughter come from him.

 

“You okay, sweetheart?” His voice was a soft rumble against the top of Blaine’s head and he drew in, another, shaky breath before squeezing his swollen eyes closed.

 

“Maybe.” Blaine shifted a little so he could wrap his arm, which was trapped between them, around Kurt’s waist allowing Blaine to shuffle closer to him. Kurt gave Blaine’s ankle a small stroke and matched his breathing pattern to the boys, trying every comforting trick he could remember from Rachel’s hysterical Broadway-Dream days.

 

“It’s okay if you’re not alright, Blaine.”

 

“They want me to consent to… To sign some documents that release Seb from any responsibility he has to me. To my Baby.” He raised his head away from Kurt’s chest as his agitation surrounding the situation grew but he quickly realised he had no energy to follow through with any angry rants and dropped it back down to its original place. “They want to give me money.”

 

Kurt was stunned, he knew the boys weren’t in an ideal situation but Sebastian _wanting_ to give away all his parental rights to his own child seemed vile. They were basically buying Blaine off, trying to make him go away and therefore all consequences and repercussions Sebastian should be facing would be sat with Blaine. He frowned, with confusion, what kind of people would want nothing to do with their first grandchild. He didn’t know what to say, he had no words for Blaine. He was angry, and disappointed, on the boy’s behalf but he could not find any phrases to convey the way he felt. Anything he would say could not make what the Smythe’s wanted to do disappear; it would be stuck with Blaine.

 

Kurt heard a small hiccup come from Blaine and it snapped him from his reverie. He might not be able to offer him any verbal comfort, placating words that it would all work out, but he could hold him and lately that’s all he seemed to be able to do when around Blaine.

 

They were quiet, together, for just over an hour. Blaine’s tears dried up and no new one’s seemed to be coming. The occasional sound of a car passing outside or the next door neighbour’s dog barking at thin air weren’t enough to interrupt the bubble the two had created in Blaine’s living room. Blaine shifted slightly next to Kurt and that movement was enough to signal to his brain that he _really_ needed to pee and his stomach was almost cramping from sheer hunger. He had no idea how long it’d been since he last eaten and he was trying to figure out how to politely tell Kurt he needed food and toilet, not necessarily in that order, when his stomach did half the job for him and growled loudly, almost echoing in the room.

 

A small chuckle escaped Blaine and Kurt sat up a little straight, taking his arm away from around Blaine. Blaine got up to his feet and looked back down at Kurt, shyly smiling at the open care he saw reflected in Kurt’s eyes. “Have you had any dinner?”

 

“Oh. Um, no. I was going to order in but I came here first.” He rubbed a hand over his face, attempting to hide his expression from Blaine, it was only just hitting him just how ridiculous, and stupid, his actions had been. He was currently alone, with one of his students, in said student’s home. The fact that the student was pregnant was secondary, if anyone found out he could be in a world of trouble. “I should go, actually. Will you be okay?”

 

“Oh.” Blaine dropped his gaze from Kurt to the wooden floor, about to speak when his brain helpfully reminded him that he _still_ needed to pee. He quickly ran to the bathroom, calling out “Don’t leave just yet! Please?” over his shoulder.

 

Kurt couldn’t find the words to give Blaine an answer, the panic on his fear was abundantly clear and the concern he felt for the boy was at war with the world’s logic and his need to protect himself.  _It’s a bit late to worry about logic, Hummel. You’re here. The damage is done._

 

Blaine had come back into the room, babbling away at Kurt in his nervous state. “Coop left some food; he always makes sure I’m stockpiled in leftovers. I think its lasagne tonight. Would you like to stay?”

 

His request slipped out in more of a desperate plea than he had wanted to use with Kurt but Blaine really did need the company and, if he was honest with himself, Blaine just wanted to be around Kurt. He watched as Kurt stood up from where he had sat back down on the couch.

 

Kurt was ready to tell him no, it wouldn’t be appropriate to stay any longer, he had made sure Blaine was okay and now it was time for him to leave but Blaine’s eyes were still slightly puffy from his tears and Kurt couldn’t deny the boy any more than had already been taken from him. “Sounds great. Is there anything you need me to do?”

 

“Oh! Um, no. Everything just needs to go in the oven. Coop even left some garlic bread.” Blaine started walking toward the kitchen, Kurt following slowly behind him. Blaine opened the fridge and took out a large tray of lasagne. “Is this okay? Do you like lasagne? Its vegetable.”

 

Kurt walked around the kitchen counter and opened the oven for Blaine. “Even better, yes.”

 

“Do you cook a lot at home?” _Good, Blaine, fill the silences with small talk. Maybe you can distract him so much he won’t start thinking about leaving._

 

“I try to. I mean, when my dad got ill I, sort of, took over all meal times. So I kept some of that routine. Even when I moved back to Lima, permanently” Kurt moved out of Blaine’s way and sat on a stool at the opposite side of the counter, his gaze following him as Blaine put together a small salad.

 

“Do you miss New York?” Blaine moved about the kitchen, appearing to be fairly confident in his actions, but Kurt could sense his anxiety.

 

“Sometimes. I don’t miss the crowds.”

 

“Does everyone speak with a really big accent and shove everybody else like the movies?”

 

“No.” Kurt laughed and Blaine decided that it might just be his favourite sound. “Not always. It can get like that but it’s nothing like Ohio, where everything moves at its own pace.” Kurt was beginning to feel there was more to Blaine’s questioning but he decided to stay quiet, wait him out.

 

“When did you come here?” Blaine was slicing carrots, every now and again popping one into his mouth.

 

“My dad died when I was in my second year of College, I was trying to live between here and New York but when he got really ill I decided that I needed to be here full time. So, after a very teary few days with Rach, I packed everything up and moved back. There just never seemed a right time to go back.” He paused, leant over to where Blaine was chopping still, and grabbed a lone carrot stick and chewed on it for a bit.

 

“How old where you?” Finished with the carrots, Blaine moved on to creating cucumber chunks.

 

“Nineteen, almost twenty.” I finished high school a bit earlier than I should have – just needing to leave. Rach and I made a pact that we’d get to New York as soon as possible so we did everything we could. Went straight from McKinley to NYADA.” Kurt gestured as he spoke with the remains of the carrot stick.

 

 _Oh, just great Blaine. First Sam and his brother and now Mr Hummel and his parents. Maybe you shouldn’t be allowed to talk to anyone male at all._ The good mood Blaine had tried to forced himself into shattered and Blaine wiped away a few tears that had escaped his eyes, not really sure who he was crying for. “I’m sorry.”

 

Kurt caught Blaine trying to surreptitiously wipe away his tears and reached for his hand. “Thank you, sweetheart, but there’s no need to cry. Dad… He dated a bit, once I’d gotten older, but he wasn’t a hundred percent without my mom.” And just like that Blaine’s tears returned, _Good Job Kurt, not supposed to make him cry even more._

 

“Hey, hey, honey. Stop that.” Kurt was on his feet and around the other side of the counter before Blaine could even put down the knife and cucumber. Kurt took them from his hands and put them on the counter before pulling Blaine into his arms for the third time that day. Kurt knew he shouldn’t be getting used to this but Blaine just felt… _perfect_ against him.

 

Blaine settled into Kurt’s arms, letting him hold him again. _Stop, Blaine, just stop crying. Please._ “I’m sorry; all I do is cry on you.”

 

“I’ve told you before, we’ll just blame to hormones, sweetheart.” Kurt pressed his lips to the top of Blaine’s head and stepped away from the boy. “Let me finish the salad and you go set the table, yeah?”

 

Blaine wiped his eyes and allowed himself to be shuffled away from Kurt’s warm embrace. “Okay.”

 

* * *

 

Blaine had put candles on the table.

 

Kurt wanted, so badly, for this to be what Blaine so clearly, albeit innocently, hoped it was but he couldn’t allow either of them the luxury of even entertaining those types of thoughts. Blaine was only seventeen and, still, one of his students. The Education Board would have solid grounds to fire him on a mere hint of any impropriety and he wouldn’t be able to teach again, not just in Ohio but in America. Everyone would write him off if they found out why he’d be fired from McKinley. But, on the other hand, he didn’t have the heart to tell Blaine it was wrong, he couldn’t cause him any more pain. Not right now.

 

A large portion of him wanted it, he wanted everything with Blaine but he didn’t know if he was just an infatuation for the boy, something he was able to focus on whilst the rest of his life was walking away from him, leaving him crying in the dark but his mind wouldn’t allow this to be any more than an appreciation. He knew Blaine was an attractive boy, he was smart and his wit was second to none, on his good days. The second night he had found Blaine at The Lima Bean had changed everything. After he told him all about his family Kurt felt a connection between the two, it had sparked to life that night and had been burning brighter and stronger every time he had seen Blaine since.  He didn’t know what it was about Blaine that made him even entertain the possibility of throwing everything away. He was toeing the line seeing Blaine as much as he had, coincidentally or not, outside of school but he couldn’t stay away.

 

Kurt didn’t know and he almost didn’t want to delve into any deeper reasons for why he was so drawn to Blaine. He didn’t know… And, for just one night, he wouldn’t care why. He could worry about the why’s later. Tonight he was just going to sit down and eat dinner with a beautiful boy and enjoy the company of some-one that wasn’t a dog or another faculty member.

 

And he did just that, they talked about everything and nothing. Their families, people they knew, pets, music and ambitions… And not once did Kurt think he was talking to his student, someone ten years his junior. He was just with Blaine.

 

* * *

 

Blaine was setting the table, putting down a fresh tablecloth and setting down the cutlery and plates when he saw the candles sat on the side. On a, partial, whim Blaine decided to set them down on the table as well, he smiled a little as he lit them. He knew he was being a bit hopeful, he was fully aware of that, but a big part of him just wanted to pretend that this was real, that he belonged to someone and they were about to have a nice dinner together.

 

Kurt had stopped in the doorway, the steaming pan of lasagne in his hands, whilst he took in the scene in front of him, Blaine and the table setting. Blaine was suddenly afraid that Kurt was going to tell him that this was all wrong and take away everything, possibly even leave but he didn’t say anything; he just sort of blinked a few times and walked over to the table.

 

Blaine couldn’t help but just _watch_ Kurt as they spoke over dinner, studying the way he moved and admiring the sparkle in his eyes when he was talking about a subject he was passionate about, even the sadness hidden in his gaze when family was brought up. Blaine also saw the sympathy when he explained, very briefly, why he lived with Cooper and not his parents. Kurt kept thinning his lips, as if trying to keep his comments in, and Blaine just found it… Adorable. If his actions of that afternoon hadn’t shown how protective he had become over Blaine then his reactions throughout the conversation cemented it.

 

Blaine felt like he was walking on air, Kurt’s attention was solely focussed on him, he did this head tilt when he was rambling off on a tangent and Blaine couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking when he did that because it kept driving Blaine to distraction again and again. One of Blaine’s favourite things about Kurt was his eyes, they kept changing blues throughout the dinner almost transforming from an intense and dark to a clear bright blue when they changed subjects.

 

It was almost surreal, Kurt being in his house, having dinner with him but he just couldn’t bring himself to care. This moment, this evening was worth all the shit that had happened and the craziness in his life, because it felt good. It felt right. Blaine wanted more than anything for this to be real, he wanted it in a way he never wanted anything else. He found himself wondering if he was being too obvious, if Kurt knew what Blaine was thinking. Did he know? Could he sense that this was more than just a crush now?

 

* * *

 

 

Kurt wasn’t sure what subject they were on anymore, he was content in just watching Blaine, listening to the smooth tones of his voice, smiling at the way his hands would flit around when he got a little excited and wanted to emphasise a point, how the candles he had set out at the beginning of dinner were lighting up the olive tones of his skin and almost making his amber eyes dance in the dim light. Kurt could swear that Blaine’s eyes were calling to him; his thick lashes drawing him in, letting him drown in their depths.

 

Kurt found himself having to sit on his hands, fidgeting, because they itched to touch the boy. He alternated between sandwiching them between his thighs and the chair and playing with random objects on the table. Time had almost ceased, it crawled to a stop, so that he could catalogue every single trait of Blaine, each individual characteristic of the boy.

 

It felt like only minutes had passed when Kurt noticed Blaine trying to fight a yawn escaping his mouth and he knew that was his cue to leave, the boy must be exhausted. _And you know if you don’t go now, you won’t go until morning._

 

“C’mon, let’s clean up so I can get myself home.”

 

Blaine’s face fell instantly and Kurt cursed himself for his insensitivity, the last thing he wanted was to make Blaine upset, he had come to adore Blaine’s bright smile. He scrambled around in his brain for a way to lighten the mood once more. “I’m old, sweetheart, I need to get my beauty sleep.”

 

“You’re already gorgeous…” Blaine mumbled under his breath as he got up to his feet, a smile back on his face and the sight warmed Kurt’s heart.

 

“Well, how do you think I got this way?” He chanced throwing a wink across the table at the boy and laughed when his actions got a balled up napkin thrown at him.

 

Having the both of them cleaning up made short work of it all, they worked together like they had been doing it for years and when the last of the dishes was dried and put away Blaine let out a wide yawn.

 

“Sorry. My bedtime’s getting earlier and earlier these days.” They were standing next to each other, at the kitchen counter, and Kurt noticed that Blaine was leaning rather heavily onto it.

 

“It’s okay, sweetheart, I understand.” Kurt watched him, his heart reluctant to leave Blaine alone again. “Are you going to be okay by yourself?”

 

“Oh yes! We have an alarm that we set at night and I’ve got all Coop’s numbers just in case.” Blaine stared down at his fingers playing with the edge of the counter, refusing to look up at Kurt, slightly afraid he would see the empty hope in his eyes. Blaine didn’t want him to leave.

 

“That’s not what I meant, Blaine.” Kurt’s voice dropped slightly, sending shivers down Blaine’s back, he moved closer to the boy and Blaine swore he could feel the older man’s breath on his neck.

 

“I know.” Blaine whispered softly. “I’ll be okay, I guess.” Blaine chanced a glance up at him and froze under the intensity of his gaze.

 

He watched Kurt grab a napkin and a pen from the side and scribble something down before handing Blaine it. “That’s my cell number; it’s on all the time. If you need me…” His voice drifted off, blue focussing on liquid amber, wanting nothing more than to be close to the boy.

 

“Thank you… Kurt. For everything, for tonight.” Blaine stood a little straighter; pleading to whoever was listening that Kurt wouldn’t be able see the need there.

 

“Blaine.” It was just his name but the way Kurt said it made it sound almost like a prayer.

 

Blaine tilted his head up at him then, his heart clear in his eyes and he was lost. Kurt’s hand reached out and ghosted his fingers tips across his cheek, brushing down his cheek bone and trailing over Blaine’s full lips.

 

Blaine couldn’t move, almost couldn’t breathe, his heart was pounding so hard in his chest that it felt like thunder, he could almost hear it in his ears. Every hair on his body was standing up, every nerve was singing at Kurt’s touch. His eyes were burning through Blaine, Blaine’s mind pleading for his kiss; he wanted Kurt to never stop touching him.

 

Kurt suddenly dropped his hand away from Blaine’s face and Blaine thought he could weep at the loss of contact; he must have made some noise because suddenly Kurt mumbled something under his breath, so low that Blaine couldn’t catch the words, before he was stepping closer to Blaine, his chest almost touching his and Blaine looked up at him with a small pout and Kurt groaned inwardly and his resistance caved. He bent down slightly and his lips grazed against the younger boys and then he was in his arms, lips almost melding together, and Kurt’s hands trying to keep Blaine as close to his body as possible.

 

They seemed to kiss forever and for mere seconds all at once, Blaine’s arms curled up and around Kurt’s head; Kurt’s winding around his hips. Kurt stepped closer to Blaine once more, forcing his back against the kitchen counter. He pushed Blaine’s knees apart with his legs and set his leg between them. Kurt used his grip around Blaine’s waist as leverage and lifted him up onto the counter behind him, his mouth never leaving Blaine’s. He positioned himself in between Blaine’s open legs, alarm bells going crazy in Kurt’s mind, seemingly nonstop but he couldn’t stop himself, he wanted to consume Blaine, when Kurt pulled up to allow Blaine, and himself, some air he realised the alarm bells weren’t merely metaphorical, there was a phone ringing in the house.

 

“Blaine, sweetheart, the phone…” Blaine’s lust filled eyes were finally able to focus when his brother’s voice came through on the answering machine, filling the house.

 

“Blaine, look at me.” Kurt knew this couldn’t go any further but he also knew he couldn’t bring himself to hurt the boy by telling him how big a mistake this was. He knew he wouldn’t be able to just let it go either… But Blaine surprised him by beating him to the punch.

 

“Kurt… I don’t want to be the reason your life is ruined too. You should leave.” Blaine paused for a second and tore his eyes away from Kurt’s, not willing to let the man see his pain. “Before we end up doing something even more regrettable.”

 

Kurt couldn’t bring himself to understand why Blaine would think that his life would be ruined by simply kissing him. He yearned to know what people had been saying to Blaine to make him think he was able to ruin anyone’s life. Kurt put two fingers under Blaine’s chin and prompted him to lift his head up so he could look into his eyes. “It wouldn’t ruin my life, sweetheart, far from it.” He kissed Blaine’s forehead and called back to him as he walked to the door saying “Lock up, please.”

 

And then he was gone.

 

Blaine simply stared at the door, entirely uncertain about what had just happened. He came back to himself with a start and set about locking up the house and turning on the alarm. As he drifted upstairs to his bedroom his thoughts were completely filled with Kurt.

 

* * *

 

Blaine’s scent was all over him, the memory of tears mixed with the smell of cinnamon and coffee, almost drowning him in its intensity. Kurt stood, on the sidewalk, outside Blaine’s house watching as all the light slowly went out, waiting until only one was left on – which he assumed to be his bedroom – . Kurt leant against his car, deliberately trying to push aside any thought of consequences or fall out away. He didn’t want to think of anything that wasn’t Blaine. The feel of him, the smell of him, everything about him. He just wanted to be able to pretend for just a little bit longer that what had just occurred wasn’t wrong, something that had felt that right couldn’t be wrong.

 

He watched as the light went out and he still found himself standing there, just staring up at the window, his thoughts flying a mile a minute but his mind blank all at once.


	12. Chapter Twelve

“Oh my god, Kurt! What the hell were you thinking!?” Rachel stared, open mouthed, completely dumb-struck after her best friend had just re-counted, completely off record, what had happened yesterday when he found the two boys fighting in the hallway.

 

Kurt sighed heavily, dropping his head into his open palms. “I wasn’t thinking. I just reacted.” He chanced a look up to see Rachel staring at him, eyes almost never-blinking, with an expressionless face.

 

“God, Kurt. That is, quite possibly, one of the stupidest things you’ve ever done and I’m including that horrid boy you dated in our first year!” Rachel watched as Kurt raised himself out of the chair and began to pace around the office. She folded her hands in front of her, a mixture of the person of authority she had worked hard to be and a concerned friend “You’re  _so_  lucky Kurt. Sebastian doesn’t seem to remember much of what happened and Sam Evans mentioned you in passing but he sounded more awed than anything else.

 

Kurt snapped his head around, confusion clouding his expression, unsure about what Rachel was saying. “Wait, Sam mentioned it?”

 

“When we asked the students, well the witnesses, what had happened no-one mentioned you at all and, like I said, Sam’s reaction boarded on appreciative love than being upset. It was a little disturbing.”

 

Kurt supressed a smile, knowing that it wouldn’t sit well with Rachel’s current mood, but Sam Evans was quickly going up in Kurt’s estimate, he might not be the brightest crayon in the pack but he had damn well earned some of the teacher’s respect.  Kurt sat back down in the car, opposite Rachel, once more. “I didn’t exactly hit the boy anyway, he kind of ran into my arm.”

 

Rachel raised an eyebrow, not accepting Kurt trying to blur the semantics to make the whole situation better and to suit his actions. “I doubt the board would accept that if Sebastian decides to complain.”

 

Pursing his lips, Kurt knew he was facing the possibility that Sebastian Smythe could make sure his career was in a precarious position. “I know.” Kurt paused, various scenarios running through his mind, almost visibly wincing at the thought of Rachel having to process through disciplinary procedures with him. “I know it wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve done.” He leant forward in the chair so his arms could rest on the desk again. “I just saw red.”

 

“Kurt, you haven’t reacted this way in such a long time. Not since…” Rachel let the sentence hang in the air between them, both of them knowing exactly what she was referring to. Rachel wasn’t going to let this go, as an educator she couldn’t. If Sebastian did decide to come forward about Kurt’s actions then it would be her neck on the line as well. “You know I can’t let this lie.”

 

Kurt pouted slightly, resting his cheek on his palm, kicking a foot forward lightly against the desk – a similar action to a contrite toddler, Rachel noted – “What’s my punishment?”

 

Rachel really hadn’t wanted to do this but Kurt’s actions and the threat of future implications had forced her hand. “There’s an official warning in your file. If anyone asks this was a disciplinary meeting. I’ve been  _very_  vague as to why I’ve had to issue a file note with you. Not really much on the whys and wherefores but it is there.”

 

“So there’s not mention of Smythe almost beheading himself on my arm?” Kurt was fighting a grin, he wasn’t happy that something like this would be on his record but file notes only stayed there for a maximum of 12 months – baring no more incidents – and he understood why Rachel had to do it.

 

“No, it’s not mentioned. I’ve simply concluded it with that the way you intervened could have been handled a little better.”

 

“Thank you, Rach, I appreciate this. I do.” Kurt lightly ran his fingers through his hair, trying to tame it from where he had worried through it previously. “Are we done?”

 

“Yes, we’re done. Just,  _please_ , remember you aren’t a student anymore. You can’t right previous wrongs. And, for the love of all things Barbara, please stay away from Sebastian.”

 

* * *

 

Blaine hadn’t been in class, any classes not just his, all week. Kurt had doubled checked with the attendance office Wednesday morning when he found it strange that the boy had missed both of their classes together. That night his resolve failed him and he, making a rather large detour, drove past his house but nothing seemed out of the ordinary there.

 

On Thursday he walked past the house on his way to and from The Lima Bean, not knowing what he was looking for and despite it being out of the way, just needing to check once more.

 

Friday’s arrival had Kurt wondering if what he was doing would be considered a form of stalking when he walked by Blaine’s house, once more, with the dogs. He was due to have dinner with Rachel and Jesse that night but he had made a multitude of excuses, his main one being unwilling to be a third wheel, to get out of it. He wasn’t that fond of vegan turkey, he’d let his laundry creep up on him, he had marking to do.

 

Kurt had a cup of tea in one hand, a red marker held loosely in the other as he took in the scene in front of him, term papers strewn across his dining room table in no discernable order, stereo turned on to the Wicked soundtrack, something he often used to sooth his agitation when marking the younger students work, when his cell phone suddenly starting ringing. He reached across a few papers to where it was hidden and, figuring it was Rachel with one last ditch attempt to convince him to come to dinner, swiped his thumb across the screen and answered with a “No. I’m not changing my mind. I don’t want to come to dinner.”

 

There was a pause and he almost drew over his arm in shock when a soft voice said “I don’t think I ever invited you but, baby brain, I probably would have but I’m not at home right now. Maybe next year?”

 

Kurt held the phone closer to his ear, dropping the pen, disbelief written over his face. “Blaine?”

 

“Yes.” Blaine’s voice was softer than he’d ever heard it before and very faint.

 

“Wait there, I need to turn off the music. I can hardly hear you.” Kurt grabbed the stereo remote and turned the song down ‘til it was almost turned off completely. “How are you?”

 

His question was met with silence, broken by a small sniff, and then silence once more. Kurt was about to repeat his question when he heard Blaine’s breath catch and a soft sob breaking through.

 

“Blaine… What’s wrong?”

 

Still, more silence. Kurt could heard some interference from Blaine’s end so he wasn’t sure if the boy was moving. “Nothing.” But with that single word Blaine’s composure broke and his tears began to fall freely.

 

Kurt waited a beat, knowing what he was about to suggest was so far out of the realms of appropriate but also knowing he had no control over himself where Blaine was concerned. “Where are you?”

 

“In Westerville, with my parents.” Blaine’s voice caught on the last word and Kurt had the sudden impression that Blaine wasn’t telling him everything.

 

“ _Where_  are you, Blaine?” Kurt glanced up at the clock, it was just past four o’clock so he’d been marking for the best part of three hours and he needed a break. He walked out from his dining room into the main living room, sitting down on his soft sofa.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

Blaine’s admission confused him. “What…” Kurt took a deep breath, not wanting to confuse Blaine with so many questions. “Blaine. Please, tell me.”

 

“My parents… My dad, he threw me out once I’d told them. He called me selfish and stupid.” Blaine’s hiccups were getting louder only countered by the softness of his voice.

 

“Is your brother with you?” Even as Kurt asked he knew the older Anderson wouldn’t be in Lima, he would probably be spending the day with others.

 

“He went to a friend’s house for the holiday. My par- They made it clear he wasn’t welcome.” Blaine sniffed once more “hang on a minute.”

 

“I’m not far from my parents’ house. I’m outside the mall.”

 

Kurt found himself pulling on his jacket, grabbing his car keys from the bowl they sat in by the living room door and already halfway out his front door before he had even thought to ask “Have you called anyone else, yet, Blaine?”

 

“I thought about calling Coop but I don’t want to ruin his holiday… There’s no-one else. I really just need some-one to talk to until I can, you know, gain enough courage to go back there.”

 

“No.” Kurt didn’t know what prompted him to be so forceful with the upset boy but he continued nonetheless. “Stay put. I’m coming to get you.

 

“I’m almost two hours away.”

 

“Blaine.” Kurt paused, making sure he had Blaine’s full attention. “When did your father throw you out?”

 

The silence went on for so long that he was afraid Blaine had disconnected the call but suddenly the sniffling resumed and Kurt heard a whispered “Last night.”

 

 _Oh fuck it._  “Don’t leave that spot, Blaine. I’m on my way. I’ll be there, with you, soon.” Kurt had affixed his phone to his dashboard so he could continue his conversation whilst pulling out of his drive, his car purring away, both man and machine anxious to be on the road.

 

Blaine began to argue with him but Kurt continued to repeat “Too late, I’ve already left.” Until Blaine quietened down.

 

Kurt heard Blaine take a deep breath and then whisper “Thank you, Kurt… Just… Thank you.”

 

“Don’t, Blaine. Just sit tight and wait for me. Okay?”

 

“Okay. I’ll see you soon.” Kurt moved his hand to end the call but quickly stopped when he heard Blaine still sniffling at the other end.

 

“Sweetheart, don’t cry. I’ll be there soon.”

 

“Okay.”

  

* * *

 

Blaine hadn’t thought past selecting Kurt’s number on his phone, he’d just been so scared that he’d wanted some kind of comfort, any kind, and Kurt had been so kind to him recently that he was the first person Blaine wanted to hear. Blaine clutched his phone to his chest, a little too tightly, his knuckles turning white from the effort. He was so tired, almost too tired to close his eyes, he’d experienced so much hurt, from his own family, in such a short space of time.

 

His father’s harsh words, spoken with malice and spite, washed over him once more, for what seemed like the hundredth time.

 

“You’re a brat, Blaine. Through and through. You have shown no respect for me, or your mother. You are useless. You will more than likely end up in a two bit, shoddy, apartment with no education. A drain on me, on your family. Well I’m not having it.”

 

Blaine wasn’t sure what had hurt him more. “Your mother should have gotten rid of you at birth.” Or “We’re going to a clinic Monday morning, whether you like it or not.” But he had lost it then, screaming at his father in a way he never had before. His father had ordered him out of the house then and there and when Blaine asked, sarcastically and full of unneeded attitude he must admit, how he was expected to get home his father’s response… “I don’t know, or care, as of this moment I have no children.”

 

Blaine had left the house without as much as a glance at his mother, he knew she wouldn’t stand up for him, wouldn’t speak against her husband.

 

He had twenty seven dollars and his phone. No clothes, except the ones on his back which had begun to smell rather ripe by now, and no way home. For the first few hours he had just cried on an unnamed sidewalk and once he had taken a few deep breaths and managed to calm himself down he had begun to think of a way to get back to Lima. There was no train that would take him from Westerville to Lima and cabs were far too expensive and most of them wanted half the fee upfront, due to it being such a long trip, and the busses that would have taken him back home were too expensive for him as well.

 

Blaine had walked around for a bit and then found himself back outside the Anderson home, knowing he wouldn’t be welcome inside, he climbed over a back fence and let himself into the unused garage and he slept on the cold, concrete, floor. Blaine had been safe there for the night but once he heard his father move around he panicked and slipped out the side door once more.

 

That was how he had ended up in the mall, scared and alone, but the stores were due to close at one o’clock, due to the holidays, and Blaine didn’t have anywhere else to go. Blaine’s composure completely broke when he watched a heavily pregnant woman, who looked no older than himself, leaving the mall with her arm linked through an older man’s. Blaine’s cries caught the attention of the couple because they stopped walking, suddenly, and the girl made her way toward Blaine.

 

“Oh, my darling, what’s wrong?” The girl had furrowed her eyebrows, in concern, and waited for Blaine’s answer. When he only shook his head the girl sat down on the bench, next to him and patted his shoulder. “Are you alone? Family? No. Is there anyone you can call?”

 

That was when Kurt’s name appeared in Blaine’s mind. “I do… Have someone. Yes.”

 

“Good. Call him, make him come.” The girl patted Blaine’s arm once more and slowly got to her feet. “Will you be okay now?”

 

“Yes. Thank you.” Blaine smiled at the girl, shyly, gratitude clear in his eyes. The girl nodded her acceptance and walked back to where the man had been waiting for her. That was when Blaine had called Kurt… He answered on the second ring.

 

Now, almost an hour later, Blaine was no closer to being safe but he felt better. Between the kindness of a complete stranger and Kurt’s quiet fury, on his behalf, Blaine felt okay.Or he had run out of tears. One of the two. He looked down at his jeans, resolving to throw them out as soon as he got home.

 

* * *

  

 Kurt was fully aware he was driving too fast, he knew it but he couldn’t bring himself to care in the slightest. What kind of father throws out his youngest son, for what seemed to be the second time, uncaring of how fragile he was. What kind of man could turn his back on his own flesh and blood? Maybe it was because Kurt just had Rachel left, all his blood-family was gone, that he held family ideals close to his heart. He’d have done anything to have a few more days, even hours, with his parents – would have sold his soul to keep them both with him – but he hadn’t been able to save either of them.

 

Kurt couldn’t understand what kind of person could throw away his family without as much as a backwards glance. Kurt switched lanes, narrowly missing colliding with a speeding car as he passed it. Thankfully it wasn’t a regular working day. It was Thanksgiving; therefore, there were only a few drivers on the road which made Kurt’s journey much easier.

 

Kurt quickly tapped a finger to his phone’s screen, checking it for the time; he didn’t see the speeding car cut him off until it was almost too late.

 

* * *

 

It was just past five when Blaine’s phone rang, shocking him out of a sleep that he’d sworn he wasn’t going to allow himself. He jerked suddenly on the bench, the noise from his phone caring him. “Hello?”

 

“Blaine!? Where are you?” Cooper’s voice was laced with concern and anger.

 

“Just waiting for a ride back home.” Blaine was fully awake now, his eyes darting around the deserted parking lot feeling more nervous by the second.

 

Cooper was silent for a moment. “I called mom. I wanted to talk to you. She told me what had happened. I’m so sorry, B, I never would have left you there if I-“

 

Blaine cut him off before Cooper could continue. Cooper had done more for him in the past few years than he ever expected of him older brother and he never wanted him to feel guilty for their parents. “I know, Coop. I know.”

 

Both brothers were silent, not wanting to break the silence for fear of what would follow. “Mom’s going to pack up your things and send them back. The least she could do  _really._ ”

 

“Okay.” There was so much more Blaine needed to say, more than he wanted Cooper to hear, but he knew it could wait until he was home. “B… I can’t get back until next Wednesday. It’s almost four days. Are you going to be alright? There’s money in the house still, if you need it.”

 

“I’ll be okay, once I’m home, Coop. Like I said. Some-one’s coming the get me.” The finality in Blaine’s voice told Cooper not to ask any more questions. Blaine suddenly heard the sound of breaking glass and a feeling of dread settled in his chest. “Coop, I have to go. I’ll call you when I’m home. Okay?”

 

“Okay, Squirt, I love you.” Blaine hesitated, afraid the tears would begin to fall once more, but he quickly gained control of his emotions. “Don’t call me that… But I love you too, big brother.”

 

He ended the call and stared out into the growing darkness. Blaine made a promise to the child growing inside him.  _No matter what happens, Baby, you come first. I’ll never leave you alone, I’ll always be here for you if you’re scared and if Uncle Cooper disappears for days on end, don’t worry. He always comes back. We’ll always have him too._

  

* * *

 

Kurt wrestled his car around the speeding idiot, almost scraping the divider between the lanes, the heavier car spinning despite the fact the ground wasn’t wet. Kurt was barely able to keep his control over the car but, somehow, he managed to keep it from hitting the other car or the separation between the lanes.

 

The other car did spin out of its drivers control and Kurt watched out of his rear view mirror as the other car made contact with the wall.  _Ouch_. Kurt almost pulled over but when the driver got out of the car and kicked his bumper he thought better of it. The driver was fine, he shook his head and kept driving. It was almost quarter past five and he had just hit the outskirts of Westerville. A trip that normally took two hours had taken him roughly an hour. Give or take a few minutes. It would only take him another fifteen minutes or so until he was able to make sure Blaine was safe.

 

He hit the last call on his phone and cursed when Blaine’s voice mail message rang through the car. Kurt drove on, his eyes flitting around the roads, constantly looking out for police. He knew he was well over the speed limit but it seemed like everyone was at home today. He sighed in frustration and tried calling Blaine again.

 

He answered almost immediately and Kurt felt his heart beat slow in gratitude, knowing that Blaine was still safe and his voice washed over him. “Hello?”

 

“Hi, sweetheart. I’m almost there.” Blaine’s eyes slipped shut, relieved to hear Kurt’s voice, soothing, in his ear.

 

“How far away are you?” Blaine had resumed his death grip on his phone; he had wedged himself into a dimly lit corner of the mall. The building supporting his painful back and a shrubbery hiding him from view.

 

“Um… About ten minutes? I’ve just passed the exit now . I should be there soon.” Kurt’s voice was confident and steady. Blaine could almost feel his presence coming closer.

 

“Good… That’s, that’s good.” Kurt heard fear in Blaine’s voice.

 

“Are you okay, Blaine?” He gotten caught at two stop lights, in succession, and he was thinking about jumping the third one when Blaine answered.

 

“I guess. I’m just cold… and tired…” Blaine broke off when a noise startled him and when he didn’t continue Kurt pushed his foot down on the accelerator and ran the red light.

 

“Sweetheart, I’m just pulling into the lot now. Where are you?” Kurt’s eyes scanned the parking lot, looking for anything that looked like Blaine but he couldn’t see anything in the darkness.

 

“I’m by the movie theatre.” Kurt cursed under his breath and made a sharp u-turn, driving to the other side of the large mall. “Okay. I still don’t see you, honey.”

 

“Hang on.” Blaine stood up from his crouching position and walked around the bushes that had been hiding him. “I can see you. I hope.”

 

Kurt rolled the car to a stop, watching Blaine step around the shrubs and approach the stalling car. Kurt could already see the fear begin to fall from Blaine’s face as he locked eyes with his teacher.

 

Blaine opened the passenger door and slid into the open seat. He leaned back against the faux-leather seats, eyes already dropping closed. “Thank you. Again. Thank you.”

 

“Any time, sweetheart.” With one last glance at an almost asleep Blaine Kurt put the car into gear and drove out of the parking lot.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter this time around! But never fear it's aalllll Klaine and another chapter will follow VERY shortly ;) Enjoy! :)

Blaine fell asleep ten minutes into their drive home. Kurt had been watching him, out of the corner of his eye, mentally wagering with himself over how long it would take the boy to succumb to sleep. He knew he must be exhausted, emotionally and physically, from everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours and so it would have only been a matter of time before Blaine gave into the exhaustion and allow sleep to claim him. Kurt smiled to himself as the boy settled himself in to the car’s seat. He let his head rest between the window and the seat, it can’t have been very comfortable but anything must have been better than wherever he had ended up last night.

 

 _Trust_. That was what Kurt was seeing. Blaine trusted him to come and get him and now he feels safe, he’s able to sleep.

 

There was the start of a bit more traffic around the edge of Westerville and Kurt allowed his contemplation of Blaine slip away from his mind and concentrated on the road instead. 

 

* * *

 

They had just reached the halfway point between Westerville and Ohio when Kurt decided to pull over to get something to eat. He needed to fill the car up with gas and when he stopped to think about it he realised he hadn’t eaten since breakfast that morning and he was getting hungry. As soon as Kurt had pulled into the truck stop and stopped the car’s engine Blaine began to stretch and shift in his seat, slowly resurfacing from his nap, he smiled shyly over at Kurt. “How close are we?”

 

“Only about an hour or so away.” Kurt paused. “I was getting a little hungry. What about you?”

 

“A little.” Blaine was extremely hungry. He felt like he hadn’t eaten so long but he wasn’t ready to admit that to Kurt. “I can pay for gas, or something, please.”

 

“No.” Kurt’s tone suggested that no arguments should be made but Blaine wasn’t about to give up.

 

“Not even half?” Blaine climbed out of the car, throwing the words over his shoulder as he began to walk towards the building.

 

Kurt quickly caught up to him, stopping in front of the boy halting his journey. “No. It was my choice to come to you. I’m not taking your money.”

 

“Fine.” Blaine snapped, unintentionally, at him and quickly regretted it when he saw the hidden shock in Kurt’s blue eyes. He hadn’t meant to sound so cruel. His voice reverted back to its normal smooth tone. “Okay. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it that way.”

 

“It’s okay. So, what do you fancy?” They had walked through the doors of the diner and Blaine looked around the sparsely populated tables and shrugged.

 

“I’m not sure. I’ll meet you back here in ten minutes. Okay?”

 

Kurt barely had time to formulate a response when he was faced with Blaine’s retreating back.

  

* * *

 

Blaine hadn’t meant to run out on Kurt so quickly but he had desperately needed the bathroom. When he returned to the main diner area Kurt wasn’t anywhere to be found. He looked around, panicking slightly, before spying his coiffed hair sticking out from the top of what appeared to be a menu.

 

“Kurt?” He looked up from where he was reading, smile almost blinding Blaine.

 

“Hi. Everything okay?” Kurt was watching Blaine’s expression intently.

 

“Just tired.” Blaine slid into the booth opposite Kurt and picked up another menu before attempting to look through it. Still feeling Kurt’s eyes on him he looked up.

 

“Tell me if anything changes. Can’t have you feeling any worse.” Kurt smiled sympathetically before glancing back down at the menu. “Anything take your fancy?”

 

Blaine thought about it for a moment, eyes still flitting over the pages. “Not really. What were you thinking of getting?”

 

Kurt shrugged. “I sort of want a burger. Thrown caution to the whole tradition side this year.” Kurt saw, and smiled, as Blaine’s eyes lit up at the mention of a burger and smiled at the boy.

 

“Two burgers it is.”

  

* * *

 

Blaine managed to stay awake for the remainder of the trip home but neither of them tried to engage in any idle conversation simply happy to remain in a comfortable silence. Kurt pulled up in front of Blaine’s house and suddenly found himself reluctant to let the boy go. It was clear that no-one was at home. Blaine would be completely alone and that thought didn’t sit well with Kurt at all but he couldn’t tell Blaine that. He had no right to ask anything of him.

 

Blaine sat there, suddenly frozen. He hadn’t left his parents with anything. He didn’t have any house keys. There were two spare sets. One with Tina, and she wouldn’t be back from visiting family until Saturday, and one with Sam and there hadn’t been any cars parked outside his house when they had passed on the way there. _Breathe, Blaine, just breathe._

 

For the first time since Kurt had known Blaine he had sat still for longer than five seconds. Kurt was beginning to get a little worried when Blaine finally moved, a small chuckle escaping him.

 

“I don’t have any keys. They’re at my parents.” Blaine was suddenly afraid to look at Kurt. “Tina and Sam have sets but… Neither of them will be home. Not until tomorrow anyway.”

 

Kurt stared at Blaine’s profile, for only a second, before making a decision. He put the car into reverse and pulled out of Blaine’s driveway, switching gears and driving away from the house, without saying a word. He was afraid Blaine would object and he wasn’t in the mood to argue his position with the boy. Not whilst he was driving and definitely not when he was fully aware that he was making an incredibly stupid, and potentially dangerous, decision but it was the only solution he could think of.

 

He wanted Blaine to stay with him. Hell, he wanted Blaine however he could take him but the facts were simple and the consequences of them getting caught were something that Kurt really didn’t like dwelling on. He was already desperately trying not to bring up the fact they had kissed less than two days ago.

 

* * *

 

Kurt heard the dogs barking when he unlocked his door. He ushered Blaine inside the house, in front of him. A quick look down showed that it was only one dog, Bree that was barking. Puck was just hanging in the background waiting for Kurt to acknowledge his presence.

 

Blaine stepped into the hallway, out of the way so Kurt could get inside the house as well, and then followed the older man as he walked through to his kitchen.

 

“Okay, guys, I get it. I abandoned you. I’m sorry. I’ll feed you now.”

 

The dogs quietened down after Kurt filled the bowl but every time Blaine shifted on his feet the smaller, female, dog growled at him. Kurt scolded the dog every time she did it but it didn’t seem to deter her. Kurt grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and spoke directly to Blaine for the first time since entering the house. “You can sleep in my room. I’ll take the sofa. Did you want to have a shower?”

 

Blaine hesitated, trying to look anywhere but into Kurt’s eyes, “The couch would be fine for me. I’d love a shower but, um, I don’t have anything to wear.”

 

“You can borrow a t-shirt and some sweats. We can put your clothes in the wash; they’ll be fine for the morning.”

 

“Okay.” Blaine hesitated just a little longer, looking around at his surroundings. Kurt’s kitchen was painted a deep green with black tiles and cabinets. He didn’t know what he had expected from Kurt’s home but it hadn’t been this. It was… warm and inviting.

 

Kurt watched as Blaine took in his surroundings, he was shocked by how at home Blaine looked, how much he looked like he belonged there. Blaine continued to look around before realising that Kurt was looking at him. When he turned around a blush broke out across his cheeks and he ducked his head attempting to hide from his gaze.

 

“So… Um, where can I shower? And, clothes?”

 

A smile worked its way across Kurt’s face; he couldn’t help but find almost everything the teen did to be completely endearing. “Of course. Up the stairs and it’s the second door on your right.” He put down the bottle of water he’d been quickly draining and motioned Blaine toward the stairs. “I’ll get the clothes for you.”

 

Blaine waited outside the bathroom door whilst Kurt continued down the hallway. He found himself leaning heavily against the door frame, fatigue starting to set in again. It had been around this time yesterday when the argument had begun. Everything had been a bit of a mess after that – the fighting, the running, the fear – and he had barely had anything to eat, bar the burger at the diner, and he found himself to be tired and hungry again. As well as feeling a little grungy all over.

 

Kurt emerged from his bathroom to see Blaine standing with his back against the door, almost asleep on his feet. He noticed circles marring the tanned skin under his eyes, standing out against his dark lashes, and Kurt could suddenly see the fatigue that Blaine had tried to hide so much. Kurt didn’t want to disturb the boy but he knew how much Blaine wanted to get clean. He had seen Blaine’s eyes dancing at the mention of a bathroom.

 

Kurt found himself unable to resist, he walked closer to him. Keeping his eyes training on him, allowing himself to drink in the boy’s presence. Blaine was beautiful, almost ethereal at times. He ran the tip of his index finger down Blaine’s relaxed face, barley touching him but feeling the contact all the way down to his toes. Even wearing day old clothes and being so tired he was almost passing out and pregnant with someone else’s child, Blaine was gorgeous.

 

Kurt leaned a little closer, his shoulder against the wall beside Blaine, just watching the boy in slumber. He hand cupped his cheek and he watched as Blaine curled into his touch. He was responding simply to the warmth Kurt offered and murmuring soft nothings into his hand.  Blaine’s head fell against Kurt’s chest and Kurt allowed him to settle in closer. Blaine’s eyes slowly opened and he looked up at the older man through lidded eyes. He nuzzled into Kurt’s chest and breathed in his scent. “You always smell so nice.”

 

Kurt leaned closer to Blaine resisting the urge to kiss him once more. “You too, sweetheart.”

 

“Oh no.” Blaine screwed up his face. “No.” A confused look came across his face and he realised what he had been doing. A small squeak escaped him. “No. I smell… Not good. Right now.”

 

Kurt leant in and sniffed the boy playfully wrinkling his nose, as he teased him, “You’re right. You smell… funny.” Blaine’s face fell a bit in shame but Kurt continued leaning in, mouth against Blaine’s ear. “You kinda smell like something I want.”

 

Dark amber eyes met blue, searching for the truth in his words but what Blaine saw wasn’t what he had expected at all. There was clear want, and lust, blazing in Kurt’s eyes. His need for him swimming in the blue depths.

 

Something akin to fear rose in Blaine’s stomach and he found he couldn’t face Kurt. What he wanted from him, he wasn’t sure he was ready to give, he couldn’t give and because he was afraid he did the first thing that came to mind, he span around and slid into the waiting bathroom, quickly closing the door behind him.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Happy Monday! I've got the day off work today so I've done a little housework and I felt, after the diddy chapter I posted yesterday, you guys deserved a little more!
> 
>  
> 
> WARNING: THIS STORY EARNS ITS M RATING IN THIS CHAPTER! (Sexual situations involving a minor and boypussy!Blaine from here on and throughout!)

Blaine was practically shaking; the intensity he had found in Kurt’s eyes had scared him and set butterflies racing low in his stomach. He began to wash himself in the shower, lost in his thoughts. What would happen when he finished showering? Would Kurt still be waiting for him? Blaine knew he wanted, needed, Kurt to be there. The way he looked at Blaine like he was something he could devour whole. Not even Sebastian had looked at Blaine like that. He just wanted to melt under Kurt’s look.

 

_What do you think Baby? Do you think he likes us...? I really want him to. God, just imagine..._

 Blaine ducked his head under the warm steam of water, trying to make his worries wash down the drain and away from him along with the soap.

 

He stepped, carefully, out of the shower and dried himself off. He leant over and grabbed the shirt Kurt had left him, as he pulled it over his head he couldn’t help but inhale deeply, it smelt of Kurt. Kurt was, almost, surrounding him. Blaine looked at the sweats he had been given. Holding them up, he laughed to himself, there was no way they would stay up around his waist. He pulled them on anyway. Bunching them up in one hand, his dirty clothes balled in the other, and left the bathroom.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kurt stood the other side of the bathroom door, just listening to the calming spray of the shower, unable to stop imagining Blaine under the water. Soft skin, soapy, slick and wet. He shook the images from his head and moved away from the door. The boy had been in his house less than an hour and he was already feeling like a pervert imagining all the things he wanted to do to, to do with, Blaine. He walked down the stairs and went into his living room. Not that it helped much, the images of the boy in his shower, water running down his naked body, were still stubbornly staying in his mind even when he tried to focus on the movie he had put on the television as a distraction.

 

Almost forty five minutes later Kurt began to worry about how long Blaine had been in the bathroom. Had he left the house without Kurt realising? What if he had slipped over in the shower and needed help. Kurt was running through different scenarios in his head when he heard the water come to a halt. Another ten minutes went by before he heard the click of the bathroom door opening.

 

“Kurt?” Blaine’s voice travelled down the hallway as he slowly made his way down the stairs.

 

Kurt would have given everything, he held dear, at that point up for this feeling of domesticity to be real, for Blaine to be here all the time. “In the living room.”

 

Blaine wandered down into the front room, his eyes widening at the décor. One wall was almost completed covered by a large television and, what appeared to be, a complex stereo system, another wall was basically a bookshelf save for a column of DVD’s, a lot of them Blaine recognised. The room had dark walls and soft-looking brown faux-leather couches. The room was framed by a window seat covered in an assortment of coloured cushions and pillows. Blaine continued to look around in awe at just how welcoming the room was. “Wow.”

 

Kurt looked over at Blaine and titled his head in questioning.

 

“Your house… All the rooms, they’re great.” Blaine’s voiced trailed off as Kurt rose to his feet.

 

“I’m glad you like it.” And he was.

 

“Did you do it all yourself?” Blaine was curious, it was clear from Kurt’s clothing that he had fantastic taste and he couldn’t help but wonder if that extended to décor as well.

 

Kurt looked slightly sheepish for a moment. “Most of it. I had some help from… A friend.” Kurt looked around, wondering just how much input he had allowed Dave to have… “He helped a bit.”

 

Blaine’s face fell. “Oh.”

 

Kurt noted the slightly sad tone in his voice and the expression to match and he suddenly felt the need to explain. “Dave. We’ve been friends since my senior year. We had a big rough patch at school and we tried the dating thing a little after I moved to New York but, eh, he was in love with someone else. They married earlier this year, actually. They have two little girls.”

 

Blaine was adorable when he blushed. “Oh… That’s nice.”

 

“Yeah.” Kurt watched as Blaine fidgeted again. He suddenly realised he was still holding his dirty clothes, bundled into a small ball. “Here, I’ll take those. Put them in the wash.” He took the clothes from Blaine’s arms and motioned toward the TV with his head. “The remotes on the side. Feel free to change the channel. There’s some food too, if you’re hungry.”

 

Food? Blaine looked down at the coffee table and eyed the assortment he had laid out. Chips, slices carrots and cucumber, some dip, cheese platters. Kurt had set it out as if he were expecting a party. There was far more food here than he would be able to eat.

 

Kurt left the room and Blaine picked up the remote, flipping through the channel and nibbling on a bit of cheese whilst he waited for him to come back.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kurt stood in front of the washer, staring at the clothes in his hands, when it finally hit him that Blaine was here, in his house, wearing his clothes and what that really meant. There would be more than hell to pay if anyone where to find out – and not just because he was a pregnant seventeen year old boy – there would be all sorts of inquiries into the baby’s parentage, despite the two of them knowing the truth, and he would more than likely be out of a job. If he took a moment to think about the whole situation he would get Blaine’s things washed and put him up in a hotel for the night, leave him there and wash his hands of the entire situation.

 

And somehow he still wasn’t able to find that within him, he couldn’t send the poor boy away, he was already scared and practically alone. Everyone else had turned their back on him, allowing him to sink without a hope of rescue and he wouldn’t allow himself to be the next in line. The older brother seemed to be the only one in Blaine’s life that was being realistic, about Blaine’s future, whilst trying to remain as supportive as possible but even he needed a break every now and again. Which, of course, left Blaine alone. Again.

 

Blaine hadn’t really spoken of his parents, aside from briefly at their dinner, he knew that the relationship was rocky. Why else would Blaine be in Lima with his older brother? But, if he was honest with himself, why would you want to talk about parents that had the ability to do what they had done to the boy yesterday.

 

In the month or so since Kurt had learned of Blaine’s pregnancy, his brother had been out of town at least twice that Kurt knew of. He had no idea how long the trips were or where he could be found but from the way Blaine spoke about it, his brother being away was a fairly common occurrence. So how, at least in good conscience, would be able to just leave the boy at a random hotel. Kurt knew he couldn’t. Even if he wasn’t, romantically, interested in Blaine it wasn’t in his nature to not take care of some-one that clearly needed it. Geeze, it was how he had ended up with his dogs in the first place.

 

Both of them were Finn’s, Rachel’s ex-boyfriend, he had brought them to keep him company when Rachel moved to New York and when Finn passed away Rachel couldn’t find it in herself to get rid of the dogs and had begged Kurt to take them both. Kurt shook his head; the dogs were not the problem anymore. His newfound situation was. The problem was sitting on his couch, the problem was what everyone around him was doing, or not doing in some cases, the problem was the way Kurt felt about him.

 

Kurt looked down at the clothes in his hands; he had been unconsciously rubbing his fingers over Blaine’s cardigan.  _Geeze, if you weren’t creepy before you’ve just crossed into that territory._ He started to throw the clothes into the water. Thinking about just how awful this whole thing was. Blaine was… He didn’t deserve any of this. From the way Sebastian had treated him to his parents calling him all those names. He’d also heard that Sue hadn’t allowed him to remain on the Cheerio’s which much have stung as well.

 

He got to the final article of clothing when he looked down and realised what he was holding. Briefs. He had Blaine’s underwear in his hands… And Blaine was upstairs, wearing his clothes, nothing between the sweatpants and his skin. Kurt groaned, looking down at the dark blue material in his hands. They were small, really small. They must be so tight against Blaine’s thighs. His hard-on, which had been manageable a few minutes ago, swelled and rose up to push against the cold metal of the zipper on his jeans. Kurt forced his hands to drop the last item onto the side. Not sure if the soft material would take being washed with the rest of Blaine’s clothing.

 

There was no way he’d be able to go back into the living room and face Blaine, not now, not unless he... He could just go and hide in the bathroom, either wait it out or deal with it there. But he realised he would have to go past the boy on the sofa and explain why he wasn’t going to sit with him. Kurt hadn’t been this hard pressed with the need to get himself off since he was a boy himself.  _Fuck it._  He took a deep breath and undid the buttons of his jeans. He reached in and pulled out his cock, starting to pump slowly. He leant against the wall behind him, closing his eyes. He imagined Blaine sat on top of the washing machine only wearing those tight blue briefs. His breathing was harsh in the cool air of the laundry room. The churning sound of the washer filling the room, the only scent in the air was the soap he had used to wash Blaine’s things. His hand curled tightly around himself, pumping and pulling, Kurt couldn’t help but wish it was Blaine’s hand, warm and tight on him.

 

Behind his eyes, Blaine was still sat in the washer. Now wearing his t-shirt and the underpants, legs spread wide, his plump lips parted, hair free from its gel – all fluffy, the way Kurt imagined it would be – He pictured Blaine lifting the shirt up and over his head, exposing his modelled chest, his broad hands sliding up muscled thighs. Pre-come dripped from the tip of Kurt’s cock and he used his thumb to collect it and smooth it around his hard length, still pretending it was Blaine’s hand touching him.

 

 _Oh, sweetheart, please._  Dream-Blaine slid the pants down his legs, spreading himself wide for Kurt again, his fingers lightly dancing across his folds.  _Yeah, show me._  Kurt’s hips jerked as his hand sped up, his mind only concentrating on the images he brought up on Blaine and the movement on his cock.

 

He felt his balls beginning to tighten and his breath hitched. Kurt grabbed the first thing within his reach ready to soak up his come. Imaginary Blaine scooted closer to him, his pussy open and exposed to his intense gaze, his fingers roughly thrusting in and out in time with the pumping of Kurt’s hand. Soft skin brushing against his cheek, all he could smell was Blaine and his mouth was almost watering, he ached to taste the boy. Kurt’s head dropped forward as he came onto the cloth he had grabbed, his eyes barely open. A low groan sounded from his throat when he didn’t recognise what he was holding… He didn’t own anything in that particular shade of blue…  _Shit_. He had just come all over Blaine’s pants. A quivering chuckled escaped from him mouth and Kurt shook his head in denial of his own actions.

 

 _Shit, Hummel, are you sure you aren’t the teenager here?_  His sigh was deep, his thoughts scattered and his hands shaking. Kurt almost growled in self-disgust. He had zero control when it came to the boy in the other room. He looked down at the soft blue material surrounding his softened dick. He quickly threw the underwear in with the rest of the wash, his worries from earlier forgotten, only hoping that the washer would take away the evidence of his perversion.

 

Still mentally berating himself over his recent actions, Kurt tucked himself back into his jeans, washed his hands in the small sink next to the washer/dryer unit and made his way, slowly, back up to the living room. If there was a god, and he fancied showing Kurt some mercy, Blaine would be fast asleep on the sofa and that mean that Kurt could just carry him into his bedroom and would be able to walk away. The other hope was that Blaine would still be wide awake; waiting for Kurt’s return, head over heels in love with him and old enough so that nothing else would matter. However neither of those seemed likely to happen and his hopeful outlook was shattered as he heard Blaine chuckle from down the hallway.

 

* * *

 

 

Kurt immediately decided if anyone was watching up there that they were a sick pervert whose greatest pleasures must be torturing him, dangling something he shouldn’t be wanting right in front of him. Blaine was curled up on his couch, legs folded underneath himself, he had his head resting on one, bent, arm eyes half closed – fatigue catching up with him once again – He was everything Kurt wanted, all wrapped in one tiny package, everything that Kurt suspected he needed.

 

Blaine must have sensed his presence in the room as he lifted his head up slightly and looked into Kurt’s eyes over the back of the sofa. A small smile crept its way onto Blaine’s face, lighting up his eyes. Kurt could feel every doubt, every worry about their differences, fall away with every second he looked at Blaine. Damn the consequences, Kurt could fall in love with this boy.

 

“Hi,” Blaine paused, taking in Kurt’s appearance. He was, easily, the most beautiful man Blaine had ever seen. Even in a plan shirt and jeans he stole his breath away. He found himself wondering if Kurt’s looks had only bettered with age or if he’d grown into them. He should be on the front pages of every magazine possible, with eyes as blue as his and lips always looking so soft and delicate.

 

Blaine remembered when Kurt had started at the school, all the whispers, all the star struck girls, and some boys, he had left in his wake. Blaine had even noticed how some of the teachers had been dumb-struck by him and the best part was that Kurt didn’t even seem to be aware, or simply didn’t care, what kind of effect he had on everyone. He just went about his business, heart eyes and broken hopes be damned.

 

But the way Kurt was staring at him now, his eyes almost heavy lidded and a lazy smile across his, aforementioned, soft lips, it made Blaine shiver from head to toe. Kurt was looking at him like he was something he could devour.

 

Kurt wondered what was going through Blaine’s mind; he hadn’t let his gaze stray from Kurt’s mouth since he had entered the room. Kurt smiled himself when Blaine’s mouth stretched into a grin, a smile just directed at him. Kurt couldn’t help but wonder if he could, someday, convince Blaine to wrap his pretty lips around something else. Of course he forced his mind away from that particular image when his dick attempted an interested jump, letting Kurt know just what it thought on the matter.

 

Kurt focused on the image in front of him instead. He noticed what was left of the food. “Did you like it?”

 

“Oh, yes. I just picked really.” Blaine shifted his gaze to the table and had to do a double take. He’d eaten almost all of the cheese and all the cucumber was gone. “Oh, dear. I think I was hungrier than I thought.”

 

Kurt strolled over to the couch and allowed a small laugh to escape. “Must have been. Did you want any more?”

 

“No, thank you. Would you like to watch a film with me?”

 

Blaine’s exhaustion had clearly been forgotten about as he sat up on the sofa, looking hopefully up at Kurt. Kurt took a seat next to Blaine, throwing his arm over the back of the chair.

 

“Sure. Your choice.”

 

Blaine moved his legs so his toes were hidden up under Kurt’s thighs. He jumped, in shock, when suddenly Bree was growling at him from the entrance to the room.

 

“Oh, stop it!” Kurt tossed a pillow over to the dog so it would hit the floor next to her, signalling that what she was doing wasn’t acceptable. He ignored Blaine’s hiss of disapproval when the pillow left his hand. He looked over at the boy. “It’s not just you; I swear she doesn’t like anyone.”

 

“You still shouldn’t be mean to her.” Blaine poked Kurt’s thigh with his toes. He squealed a little when he was suddenly pushed onto his back, his legs either side of Kurt’s thighs as the older man towered over him, making them practically nose to nose. “Careful Blaine, you should always respect your elders.”

 

Blaine chucked and mock shivered. “Oh, I’m so scared! Old man!”

 

“You’re toeing the line there, sweetheart.”

 

Blaine looked Kurt straight in the eye as soon as he heard the term of endearment, his eyes wide and his breathing becoming increasingly erratic. He could swear he would almost hear his heartbeat in his ears. Kurt’s words had struck a different chord, no longer simply playful and teasing and Blaine felt Kurt’s hands grip his upper arms a bit tighter, the touch almost burning.

 

Kurt wasn’t looking back into Blaine’s eyes; he was staring at the boy’s mouth. His own words echoing in his mind, playing over and over in a loop. He couldn’t stop it any more, he couldn’t resist Blaine. Kurt dipped his head down and nibbled on the boy’s lower lip, scoring along it with his teeth and then soothing the bites with his tongue. Blaine’s eyes drifted closed and he parted his lips, inviting Kurt in.

 

At the first touch of Blaine’s tongue against his, whatever internal battle his conscience had been waging was lost, he surrendered at the first sign of Blaine’s willingness. His hands dropped from Blaine’s bicep and attached to his waist, lifting his hips from the couch so he could circle Blaine’s body with his arm, the other hand threading its way into Blaine’s damp curls and keeping a grip on the boy, keeping him close.

 

Blaine mewled into his mouth, his arms raising up and wrapping around Kurt’s shoulders, his fingers pushing into the hair at the nape of his neck. Kurt shifted his body against Blaine’s and the too big shorts slid down Blaine’s legs, following the trail of Kurt’s body and almost ending up at Blaine’s knees. He was too lost in the sensation of Kurt’s mouth again, arching into his touch.

 

Kurt bunched up the t-shirt at Blaine’s hip, breaking his lips away from him.

 

“Sweetheart… Blaine…”

 

Kurt’s voice went straight through Blaine, making his knees quiver and his breathing hitch. Blaine’s thumb ran over a thumping pulse in Kurt’s neck and the other man tried to fight against his body’s reaction, not wanting to smother the boy. Kurt leant down to kiss Blaine once more, dragging the t-shirt up with his hand, rubbing his fingers over Blaine’s chest, stopping to lightly pinch at his nipple.

 

“Need you, sweetheart.”

 

Kurt tried to move closer to Blaine, if it was possible, his hand abandoning Blaine’s nipple to run down his torso and over his bare hip. Blaine’s skin was just as soft as Kurt imagined it to be, his lips just as he remembered from their last kiss. His hand stroked over Blaine’s hip bones, fingers trailing down so they could splay over the curve of his ass.

 

Blaine was trembling in Kurt’s arms, the press of Kurt’s fingertips sending sharp shocks of want through him, pooling in the bottom of his stomach. He needed Kurt to touch him, he was craving it. He had never felt anything like this before. Kurt pulled his mouth away from Blaine’s again, both breathing heavily, and Blaine whispered a gasping protest until Kurt’s tongue was licking a path from his collar bone up to a sensitive spot just below his ear.

 

Kurt rocked his hips into Blaine, his erection pushing painfully against the denim separating them, as he nibbled across Blaine’s neck. Blaine’s pants and whimpers in his ear were almost enough to push him over the edge.

 

“Oh god… Kurt, please… Touch me.” Blaine whimpering his name broke any resistance he had left.

 

“Open up for me, honey.” Kurt leant back, looking at down at Blaine bared to him, Blaine’s shirt was bunched up over his waist. Kurt’s fingertip followed Blaine’s sharp hip bone down to the dark patch of curls between his legs. His other hand pushed the cotton material, of the borrowed t-shirt, further up and Kurt gently ushered Blaine back against the couch.

 

Blaine looked into Kurt’s eyes, once more, finding himself enthralled by the hunger in his eyes. He was completely open to his intense gaze, his shoulders against the seat of the couch, his knees still trapped in the loose sweats.

 

Kurt’s left hand slowly stroked Blaine, sweeping around and over his hip, his thumb and fingers trailing through the curls covering the boy’s pussy.

 

“Shit, Blaine, you are gorgeous.” He breathed out, struggling to maintain any control, his fingers parted Blaine’s folds, opening the boy up, they threaded through the hair before he found the small, swollen, nub that he was looking for. He watched Blaine’s reaction as he rolled his clit between his finger and thumb, the boy’s hips trying to buck up, chasing Kurt’s fingers when they moved even slightly. Blaine’s knees trembled either side of Kurt and he spread his knees wider, encouraging the older man’s exploration.

 

Blaine kept breathing Kurt’s name, over and over, harsh panting breaths intertwined with small whimpers.

 

“Kurt… Oh god, Kurt.”

 

Kurt slid two fingers into Blaine’s wetness and he found his mouth watering. He continued to slowly pump his fingers in and out of Blaine whilst kissing down his stomach until his face was level with Blaine’s pussy. He curved his fingers up toward Blaine’s stomach just before latching onto his clit with his mouth.

 

Blaine’s hip bucked upward toward Kurt’s mouth, his shriek of surprise echoing throughout the living room. All thoughts melted away from him, everything was gone and the only thing Blaine could think of was the feel of Kurt’s mouth on him and the fingers pumping away inside him.

 

Blaine was shaking, his entire body quivering when Kurt’s tongue rolled over his pussy, salvia mixing with his wetness. Suddenly there was a sinking feeling in Blaine’s stomach and all he could feel was pleasure rolling through his body. His stomach muscles contracted and he almost folded in on himself.

 

He cried and gasped, repeating Kurt’s name, tears escaping from his closed eyes when Kurt’s fingers rubbed against something inside of him. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, could only feel. He screwed his eyes shut even tighter and felt every nerve in his body fired at once.

 

Blaine’s orgasm ripped through him, short circuiting every nerve and muscle in his body. His chest heaved trying to get some kind of air into his lungs, trying to force them to operate when it seemed like they weren’t responding to his brain’s commands. Trembles continued to roar through him and he didn’t seem to be able to gain control over himself. Tears, continuously, seeping from behind his closed eyes and he tried to curl into a ball, hide within himself, but his body wouldn’t obey him.

 

He heard, and felt, his teeth begin to chatter.

 

Kurt had removed his mouth from Blaine and he noticed the boys’ stomach was covered in small goosebumps and he was still shaking like a leaf. He raised himself up on his knees, still between Blaine’s legs, and stroked over Blaine’s shoulder.

 

“Blaine?”

 

The boy’s body simply shook harder.

 

“Honey, what’s wrong?”

 

Blaine’s only answer for Kurt was to wrench open his eyes and the tears that shone in front of confused amber broke Kurt’s heart.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My outline is now up to twenty four chapters... It started with twelve. Whoops? I'm not working this weekend so another chapter shall be yours shortly :)

“Sweetheart, talk to me. Please?”

 

“Cccold.” Blaine chattered out, his shivering still increasing.

 

Kurt pulled Blaine up from his position on the couch and into his arms. “Shhh,”

 

Blaine buried his face in the crook of Kurt’s neck, trying to hold onto the arm that was circled around him. “Kkurt, I’m still cold.”

 

“I’ve got you sweetheart.” He hooked his arm under Blaine’s bent knees and lifted the boy up from the sofa, finally the too-large sweat pants falling off of his legs. He slowly walked from the living room up toward his bedroom, all thoughts of taking their actions any further completely evaporate from his mind, Blaine’s reaction and the fear in his voice almost made the teacher feel sick.

 

“Kurt… I don’t understand.”

 

The questioning tone in Blaine’s voice derailed his train of thought. What didn’t the boy understand? Kurt had fingered and gone down on him until he… Oh. Reassessing Blaine’s reaction brought Kurt to the assumption that Blaine genuinely didn’t know what his body had just done to him. How was he meant to explain an orgasm? He brushed a kiss against Blaine’s temple and felt another series of tremors roll through the boy.

 

“Shhh.”

 

Kurt kicked open his bedroom door and placed Blaine on to the bed, pulling back the duvet and covering him with it. He sat down on the bed beside Blaine and heard the boy whimper in protest after he moved away from him.

 

His back still to the teenager in his bed, he began to talk. “It’s time for bed honey, not doing anything else. But… Blaine, you came. You… orgasmed.”

 

“Oh.” Blaine whispered and was quiet until a louder; “oh!” came out.

 

Kurt looked at him over his shoulder, noticing the boys’ stained cheeks and downcast eyes. _He’s embarrassed._

 

“I’ve never… That didn’t, um, before… That didn’t.” Blaine stuttered out, avoiding making eye contact with Kurt.

 

 

Kurt had kicked his socks off and he rolled over the bed, pulling Blaine into his arms, allowing the boy to rest his head on his chest, slowly stroking his curled hair. “Don’t worry honey. That’s what should happen when someone takes care of their partner.”

 

“Oh.” Again. Blaine felt like a fool, his inexperience shining through, he had never felt so stupid. He wanted to curl into Kurt’s embrace and just forget he had ever made such a spectacle of himself but Kurt wasn’t about to let that happen. He felt Blaine stiffen in his arms and was desperate to know what was going through his head. He pulled the covers around them tighter, almost cocooning them in together, and then bent his head to whisper in Blaine’s ear. “What’s wrong, Blaine?”

 

“Nothing.” Kurt wasn’t stupid. Nothing always meant everything. He just didn’t know how to reach out to Blaine, how to make the boy want to talk to him. He’d never done this before; he’d never been with a boy who didn’t know the way his body responded to… certain activities. Blaine’s innocence was priceless, something Kurt hadn’t expected, given his current state. A soft sniffle caught his attention, breaking through his thoughts; the last thing he wanted was for Blaine to cry.

 

“Blaine?” Kurt pulled away so he could face Blaine but the boy wouldn’t lift his eyes from where they were trained on Kurt’s chest. “I can’t help if you shut me out, sweetheart. Please talk to me.”

 

Blaine shook his head in denial, they didn’t need to talk. His hand escaped the duvet and wiped away the tears that had fallen down his cheeks and Kurt’s heart, which was already in danger of being lost, constricted in his chest.

 

“Hey, what’s really wrong?”

 

Blaine tried to pull away but Kurt reacted, without really thinking, to pull the boy closer to his chest. “No, I want to hold you, Blaine.”

 

Kurt felt Blaine relax into him, his whole body giving one last shudder before calming. Breathing deeply Blaine lifted tired eyes up to his and Kurt brushed another kiss against his forehead. “I’m not going to _make_ you talk to me Blaine, but I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

 

Blaine’s eyes drifted closed and he sighed softly, dropping his head down against Kurt’s chest, curling further into his arms. Blaine breathed out Kurt’s name once, before slipping into sleep. Kurt inhaling that inherent Blaine scent before following after him.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kurt woke up alone.

 

Blaine was gone. The only trace of him left was the lingering smell of him on the pillow he had curled up on. When Kurt rolled over to look for the boy he could have sworn there was still a small indentation where his head had been. Kurt cursing whispered through his room as he stretched out in the bed, easing his muscles into movement. He got up and made his way through his home, still not expecting to find Blaine but secretly hoping, Blaine’s clothes were gone from the wash. Kurt’s sweats neatly folded up on top of the dryer; however his t-shirt was nowhere to be found. A large part of him was angry for Blaine just leaving without saying a word whilst he was still asleep but the, more rational, other side of him understood that Blaine was still scared and probably unsure about everything that had happened in the last forty eight hours. Not only with him but with his own family.

 

Kurt debated with himself about picking up his phone and calling Blaine, making the boy face whatever it was that was between them. Kurt knew what he wanted, what he needed, from Blaine. He knew how he felt. He wouldn’t be satisfied with just a fling; he wasn’t going to treat this like a game. Kurt found himself sitting on his couch with his phone in hand, finger poised over Blaine’s contact name, just a little emoji of a bumble bee.  His internal debate raged on as he continued to stare at the device. He needed to hear Blaine’s voice; he just wanted to know that he was at least safe, to know that he’d made it home.

 

A deep sigh tore its way from Kurt’s throat and he put the phone down on the cushion beside him. If Blaine wanted to talk to him, he would call. Kurt looked over at the mess of papers still littering his dining room table from the afternoon before.  They still needed to be graded and marked and Kurt needed to keep busy even if his mind, and heart, was elsewhere.

 

 

* * *

 

Sam had opened his front door, bleary eyed and still half asleep, a pair of tight white briefs hanging low on his hips. Blaine pushed past him, shocking Sam, babbling words, none of which made much sense to the sleepy boy, not allowing Sam time to question why Blaine was at his house so early in the morning.

 

“Hi Sam. Keys, to my house. I’m locked out. I need in. Cleaning and stuff.”

 

Barely awake Sam ran a hand through his sleep mussed hair, his eyes trying to focus as he caught sight of Blaine watching him, hands folded in front of his stomach, wringing them almost nervously.

 

“Keys?”

 

“Oh, yeah. Hang on a sec.” Sam headed down the hallway to his bedroom, Blaine trailing behind him, eyes training on Sam’s retreating back but his mind on the man he’d left in bed.

 

Blaine’s insistent bladder had been the reason he’d woken up so early, long before the sun had risen, and he had taken the time to check his clothes and put them into the dryer. He had crawled back into the, still warm, bed with Kurt. His arms quickly settling around Blaine like it was a routine they had perfected, instead of it being the first time for them. Kurt’s hands automatically circled Blaine’s hip and chest, the fingers of his left hand brushing against the curls between Blaine’s legs. Blaine found himself drifting in and out of sleep, his mind going over the last two days.

 

He hadn’t spent a holiday with his parents since he had moved to live with Cooper. He remembered them to be a happy, albeit visitor filled, time. It had gotten increasingly uncomfortable for the last couple of years he had lived with them, the procession of family members that had queried Blaine’s future plans and his ‘teen loves’ and the constant questioning of Cooper’s whereabouts had gotten on his nerves. However, this time, he had the added burden of terrible morning sickness that didn’t ring true to its name and had been cropping up at all points of the day and his insane urge to cry at even the littlest of things and, of course, the fact he had to tell him parents. Which had, obviously, backfired horribly. He had spent two days finding some kind of courage to tell him dad and he still screwed it up. He had grown up with eloquence lessons, he had been captain of so many teams at Dalton and he still managed to mangle anything important he had to say. 

 

His small sigh caught Sam’s attention and he squinted at his friend. “What’s up? Something wrong?”

 

Blaine found Sam’s concern touching, he really did, but he didn’t think he could handle that on top of everything else. He wanted to go home and curl up in his own bed and try not to think of Kurt’s hands on him. A few thousand butterflies had taken up residence in Blaine’s stomach whenever he thought of Kurt, lately, and they were now taking flight within him and Blaine nearly doubled over is response. The memory of Kurt’s touch almost overwhelming his body, it was responding to the memories in his mind, the remembrance of his scent curling inside Blaine, causing his breath to shorten and his cheeks to redden. _God. I never should have left him._

 

Sam’s voice broke through once more, causing reality to thump Blaine back down, “Blaine! You okay?”

 

“Hm?” Blaine’s head swing around to gaze at him, the blush deepening on his face. “Yes. Yeah, I’m fine.”

 

Taking another deep breath, Blaine ducked his head, avoiding Sam’s intense scrutiny. “A little tired. Out of sorts, you know. My belly’s a bit…” Blaine trailed off.

 

It wasn’t a lie, his stomach was feeling very fluttery just not for the reasons he was allowing Sam to think.

 

“Are you hungry?”

 

“Sometimes. Most of the time. Not now though, thank you.”

 

“Oh. So why the stomach flipping then?” Sam was going through the drawer of his bedside table, looking for the spare set of keys he had.

 

Blaine shook his head. “Sam… Pregnant. Remember? Funny things happening in my stomach are sort of expected now.”

 

His head snapped up to look at Blaine’s teasing smile. “Oops. Sorry. Forgot.”

 

“Not a big deal, I’m glad someone can. Found the keys?” Blaine perched himself on the edge of a chair, hands still clenched together. The more he thought about it, the butterflies in his stomach had taken on a bit of a different flight pattern and suddenly Blaine’s mouth was filled with excess saliva and his body felt hot… He jumped to his feet and pushed past Sam, for the second time that morning, running straight across the hall and into the bathroom there.

 

The sound of his best friend retching sounded out through the hallway and into Sam’s bedroom and the blonde found himself grimacing in disgust. _Man, being pregnant all the time must suck shit._


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have nothing of interest to add this week... My next day off from work is Tuesday so *fingers crossed* the next update will be with you then!

Kurt found himself beyond pissed off by the time Monday rolled around. Blaine had called once, when he knew Kurt would be out walking the dogs, and left a message for him. Saying he had gotten spare keys from Sam and was home safe but was just going to lie down and sleep. Kurt hadn’t heard from the boy since then and his natural tendency to worry was taking over. He panicked that he had scared him, moving too fast because he wasn’t able to control his wants. The main thing that was angering Kurt was that he knew what he was doing, what they had done, was wrong – at least in the eyes of some people. Kurt had a very clear view of how the school board, and legal system for that matter, would react if they actions were discovered – but he still found himself smiling at the memory of Blaine in his arms.

 

Unfortunately the bottom line was that Blaine was seventeen and one of his students. There was no way around those facts, no way to dress it up or change it. He wouldn’t be turning eighteen until sometime late next January, if he remembered correctly, but that was only a smaller part of the problem. The legal system would turn a blind eye if Blaine was eighteen and not his student but the school board would have his career destroyed in the blink of an eye. The news was always full of teaching who had been accused of having relationships with their students and they never ended well. More often than not the teacher was dismissed from their position and labelled a paedophile.

 

Kurt Hummel was not a fool. He knew the way he felt about Blaine was wrong, in others eyes, and that he was walking a very fine line. One that could end up with him spending time in a correctional facility, not only losing his job but tarnishing his reputation at the same time. Yet, despite knowing the consequences and being aware of crossing that line with Blaine, Kurt didn’t regret one moment of the other night.

 

Although he had not been happy to wake up alone. Not happy about that at all.

 

He had tried baking to relieve some of the stress, both dogs had extremely long walks; he had even spent a few hours on the phone with Rachel trying to distract himself from thinking of Blaine.

 

Nothing had worked.

 

The clawing need that he had to see Blaine hadn’t dissipated at all, if anything it had grown worse every time he got into his, suddenly much too spacious, bed. Kurt had never been labelled a selfish person, he could be blunt to the point of pain, but he always put others first but this time he wanted something, someone, and he wasn’t going to let him slip through his fingers. He was going to brand himself onto Blaine’s soul until the boy needed, and craved, him the way Kurt did Blaine.

 

He knew he couldn’t be stupid about it all. He wasn’t prepared to lose his job, or his freedom, but he needed to make Blaine understand that what they had shared and what lingered between them wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. He wasn’t going to skip off at the first sign of difficulty and he wasn’t ready to stop wanting Blaine the way he did.

 

Kurt had been labelled, by his students, as a grouch all morning. He had been sharp and snappy with them. Ignoring his colleagues at lunch and stalking the corridors with a permanent bitch glare, seemingly tattooed, on his face.  The papers he had graded over the short holiday had all been handed out, the comments he had scribbled across them bordering on plain criticism. He was fully aware that he shouldn’t be taking his mood out on everyone else, but he was angry.

 

It wasn’t until Blaine walked into his classroom in the afternoon that the invisible band around Kurt’s chest eased and he felt like breathing was suddenly easier. He looked better than Kurt had seen him in weeks. No tell-tale signs of previous tears, eyes bright and clear, his skin glowing and a smile on his face. Kurt stood staring at him for far too long, unable to think at all.

 

 

* * *

 

  

After leaving Sam’s house, when he had finished ridding his body of the food he had eaten the day before, Blaine had gone straight home. He had stripped his clothes once he was in the house, except for Kurt’s shirt, and had climbed into bed to catch up on some sleep. He had waited until later in the evening to call Kurt and he thanked whoever had decided he deserved a little bit of a break when he heard Kurt’s answer phone rather than the man himself. Once he’d woken up a bit more in the evening he ate some leftover spaghetti and set up camp on the house and, bar the phone call to Kurt, that’s what he did on Sunday as well.

 

The extra rest had been exactly what Blaine had needed; he woke up Monday morning feeling a lot more refreshed and, touch wood, not any signs of nausea. _Yes, Baby. You are my favourite. I’m going to get you the biggest teddy bear ever when you get here._

 

It had taken Blaine a little longer than usual to get ready for school, a niggling thought in the back of his mind that it was because he was dressing to impress. He final decided on a tight pair of navy jeans, a white Fred Perry polo, paired with a bright coloured red cardigan. Blaine smoothed down his hair and took a final look in his mirror. _Hey Baby, Daddy’s feeling a bit prettier today. If you could continue this good mood of yours, Daddy will keep a smile on his face and he won’t eat anything spicy for a week! Happy Baby makes a happy Daddy._

 

Avoiding the English block all morning had proven harder than Blaine first though. His feet kept leading him in that direction and, twice, he’d found himself in the hallway leading toward Kurt’s classroom before checking himself and purposefully heading in the opposite direction. Although lunch had passed, he’d eaten with Sam – praying the whole time that Baby wouldn’t suddenly pitch a fit and force him to skip his English class – Tina had been busy with a project that kept her in her Statistics class, and now it was time for his English lesson.

 

Kurt had been on Blaine’s mind all weekend. He had been obsessing over the way Kurt moved, the way he had spoken to Blaine when they were into bed together. Blaine kept thinking back to the way his eyes had glittered when teasing him and then darkened to an almost deep midnight when he had him pinned to the couch. Blaine had fallen asleep both nights imagining Kurt’s voice next to his ear, perfectly pitched yet rough and needy all at once. Blaine found himself constantly blushing when he thought back to what Kurt’s mouth and hands had done to him and when those memories kept breaking their way through when he was sitting with his friends Blaine found himself wiggling, uncomfortably, in his chair so as not to alert everyone to where his thoughts were trailing to.

 

Lunch seemed to last mere minutes and Blaine found it was time to head to his class. The butterflies were back flapping around his poor stomach and Blaine just hoped the feelings wouldn’t upset Baby’s good mood. So he closed his eyes and prayed for just five minutes of peace so he could calmly walking into Kurt’s classroom, not looking like he was going to throw up everywhere.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kurt was standing at the back of his classroom, watching everyone wander in at their own paces, a silent presence in the room. Blaine found himself unable to look at Kurt, although desperately wanting to know what he was wearing or the expression on his face, because if he did he knew he was going to end up throwing himself at the older man. He finally took a deep breath and glanced up at him from beneath his lowered eyelids. Blaine felt his cheeks heat up and he smiled, his breath caught in his throat, just staring at Kurt.

_Oh, wow, Baby. Can we pick ‘em…_

 

Kurt raised one corner of his mouth in a slight smile, his eyes almost twinkling as they ran over Blaine’s form, making sure he was all in order. Blaine’s own smile grew and Kurt titled his head in acknowledgment before calling his class to order.

 

The class passed by too quickly, leaving Blaine with no idea what they’d discussed and his mind filled with different images of Kurt and the timbre of his voice echoing through his head.

 

“Mr Anderson.” Blaine picked up his head at the sound of his name, finding Kurt’s eyes fixed on his, “Please see me at the end of the day.”

 

A small nod of his head was Blaine’s only answer but at the sympathetic looks everyone else gave him he realised that it wasn’t obvious what had been on his mind.

 

The bell rang, signally the end of his class, and Kurt watched Blaine leave the room his eyes following the boy out of the door. The next minutes found Quinn Fabray in his face; pushing her way toward him to question the less than perfect grade he had awarded her last essay, erasing all possible thoughts of going after Blaine from his head.

 

Just two more classes and he would be able to see Blaine, only an hour and a half.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Blaine practically floated out of Kurt’s class, thoughts flitting back over every time Kurt had come to his rescue, every time he’d taken care of him and every other little interaction they’d had. He had never expected anything of Kurt but he had been given everything.

 

Tina had met him in the corridor and was chattering away about something and Blaine found himself only half listening to her, instead focussing on all the butterflies he had come to associate with thinking of Kurt. He was thinking about naming them since they didn’t seem to be disappearing anytime soon. Blaine brushed a hand over his belly, a soft smile playing on his features.

 

Tina, mistaking the expression on Blaine’s face and thinking that it was in reaction to what she had said. “Blaine? Did you hear?”

 

“Hm? Pardon?”

 

“Welcome back.” Tina gave a small chuckle. “ _I said_. The English lit classes are all going to LA to see a play.”

 

That caught his attention. “Really? When? Which one? Who’s going?”

 

More laughter erupted from Tina as she saw the wonder on Blaine’s face. “Sometime this month, I think, the fifteenth maybe. I don’t know the show but Mr Hummel will. Just ask him when you see him.”

 

“I’ll do that.” Blaine assured his best friend. _If I can remember to think coherently around him._

 

* * *

 

 

Classes finished over ten minutes ago and five minutes ago Chandler had stopped in to ask Kurt if he wanted to come out for drinks on Friday and then, oddly, asking to borrow his outline for the field trip that month. Now Kurt found himself pacing around his room, hands shoved deep in his trouser pockets, trying his best not to sit and stare at the clock on the wall. It was stupid of him to ask Blaine to meet him on school grounds but Kurt was afraid that Blaine would find reasons to ignore him outside the school’s walls. Blaine would be smart if he did avoid him, stopped him cold in his tracks and distanced himself from Kurt. However Kurt found himself hoping otherwise, hoping Blaine was just as helpless in this as he was, unable to stem the tide of need surging through their bodies.

 

Twelve minutes had passed. Kurt looked up at the clock, his eyes following the movement of the second hand around the dial. He wasn’t coming. His shoulders slumped and he let his head drop back, looking up at the ceiling. He slowly closed his eyes, willing away the feeling of anger and overwhelming tears, trying to find any part of acceptance in him, believing that Blaine would be the sensible one. By not coming to his classroom, Blaine was calling a halt to everything.

 

His eyes remaining closed, his lashes looking impossibly dark against his pale skin, the expression on his face betraying his feelings. He was fighting the urge to go and find Blaine however the only sign of his internal battle was in the set of his shoulders and the balled fists at the side of his thighs. Kurt was so lost to his thoughts that he didn’t hear the door to his classroom opening nor the soft tread of another’s feet.

 

Blaine took two steps into the room, not seeing Kurt at his desk at first, quickly sweeping his gaze through the quiet room. He found Kurt standing partially in shadow, his head thrown back and his eyes closed. Tendons in his neck tense and drawn. Blaine found himself staring at Kurt, his eyes taking in the strong lines of his profile, the deceptive slightness of his form belying the strength of his will and heart. A soft smile graced Blaine’s face and all he wanted to do was move closer to him, bask in his warmth and watch his eyes twinkle down at him. Blaine noted his breath had accelerated and he could feel his body begin to respond to his proximity.

 

Two more steps and he could almost touch him. He wanted to reach across the distance and fall into Kurt’s arms. He found himself wanting Kurt so much that his breath hitched and a sob almost emerged from his throat.

 

Kurt’s mind was filled with images of Blaine’s damp curls against the backdrop of his couch. He sent a small prayer to anyone there that some-one would have pity on him and let Blaine change his mind and come to his classroom anyway. A small noise broke through his pleadings and Kurt’s neck snapped up; he straightened up, and turned toward the source of the sound.

 

There he stood. _My boy._ Kurt’s smile was genuine, finding the object of his affection standing, so innocently, in front of him just watching him. Neither one of them spoke, words not enough to convey the depths of what they were feeling. Blaine’s amber eyes were bright and Kurt was lost.

 

He circled around him, moving through the rows of desks to the door. Closing it and locking it from the inside. Kurt leant back against the door and allowed his eyes to trail back across the room and up Blaine’s body, a slight leer written across his face, “Blaine.”

 

It was just his name, something he heard every day, something so mundane that it shouldn’t have hit him straight in the pit of his stomach. But it did. His voice… Blaine had the feeling that Kurt’s voice would always have this hold over him, this effect on his, making his knees weak and sending his butterflies crazy.

 

“Hi.” His smiled answered Kurt’s and Kurt found his breath knocked out from him. _God, he’s gorgeous._

 

Silence fell between them once more, neither of them wanting to shatter it, it wasn’t awkward and there was no need to fill it. Kurt folded his arms across his chest, his eyes steady on Blaine, the tension in his body gone, blasted away in the face of Blaine’s presence.

 

When Blaine finally spoke it was almost a continuation of a conversation they had been having all along, almost as if they hadn’t been apart for the better part of three days, like they’d only just parted a short time ago.

 

“I let the dogs out when I left.”

 

Kurt’s voice filled the leftover silence and he took a step closer to him. “I let them back in.”

Suddenly his arms were around Blaine, his scent engulfing all of Blaine’s senses, his words going straight through him, almost warming him from within. “I missed you when I woke up. I’d have liked you to have been there.

 

“I…” Kurt leant back and reached out his finger to brush against Blaine’s cheek, silencing him.

 

“Too much?”

 

Blaine closed the gap between them that Kurt had created, and nuzzled into his chest. “Maybe. But I missed you.” Muffled against Kurt’s chest, he sounded _very_ much like a young boy. His arms circled around Kurt’s waist, his fingers looping into his belt, holding him as close as possible.

 

“I promise that I missed you as well.” They fell silent again, Kurt happy to just feel the thrum of Blaine’s heart near his, the soft inhalations of their breathing, content to just hold Blaine again.

 

Blaine could feel the steady thump of Kurt’s heart and Blaine breathed in deeply, drawing Kurt’s scent down into his depths. He didn’t want to move, he wanted to keep this safe feeling and try and bottle it up for future use, if possibly, he felt Kurt’s hand sweep up his back and thread into the soft hair and the nape of his neck, curling what he could around his fingers. Blaine looked up in time just to see Kurt leaning down and instead of kissing Blaine’s forehead, Kurt allowed his lips to brush across the boy’s, his tongue almost immediately seeking entrance, Blaine sighed, happy to give him whatever he requested, letting him in.

 

Soft and sweet, it was Blaine’s taste that was the something sweet and he smelt of traces of raspberries, Kurt cupped Blaine’s head in his hands, breaking some of the mould of his hair gel and slipping his fingers into the cracks. Blaine slipped his arms up around Kurt’s shoulders, almost standing on his toes to press his body flush against his. Kurt’s hand snuck down, cupping Blaine’s ass beneath the tight jeans he wore, feeling the heat of Blaine’s skin. He broke off their kiss, breathing heavily. “Sweetheart?”

 

A shy smile crossed his features and Blaine almost batted his eyelashes at the older man. “I… Um. They’re _very_ tight.”

 

Two red spots bloomed on Blaine’s cheeks and he couldn’t say the exact words out loud. Kurt’s look of utter surprise was quickly swallowed by a knowing leer and his tongue slowly swept across his lower lip and Blaine grip on his shoulder tightened. Kurt leant down and growled into his ear.

 

“Naughty boy.” His teeth ripped at the soft spot on his neck. “Going to open up for me, sweetheart?”

 

Blaine mewled a soft noise into Kurt’s neck and it went right through him, he felt Blaine’s fingers dig into his shoulders and Kurt licked a path from his ear down to the base of his neck, gently nibbling as he went. “You taste divine, Blaine.”

 

“Kurt?” Blaine pulled away from him, his eyes wide and shy gazing into his intense eyes.

 

“Yes?” Blaine pulled the hand that was resting on his rear to the front of his crotch where his pants were buttoned, signalling Kurt what he wanted.  Kurt’s eyes blazed with realisation as he skilfully popped the buttons open and slid his hand down, delving through the curls that covered Blaine.

 

“Oh, Blaine…”

 

Their lips met again, mouths joining and tongues swirling together. Harsh panting breaths broke across Blaine’s cheek when Kurt broke away from his mouth, his eyes focusing on the skin he was revealing by moving his wrist around in Blaine’s pants. “Oh, sweetheart. You feel like silk. So warm…”

 

Kurt dropped down to his knees, fingers hooking in Blaine’s waistband and taking his trousers with him, mouth nuzzling over Blaine’s exposed hip bone. “Please?”

 

Kurt slid his hands down Blaine’s legs, and wrapping his hands around Blaine’s knees. Gently pushing them apart but going no further, just letting his thumbs rub gentle circles at the crease behind them. His eyes lifted to see Blaine’s face and he watched at Blaine’s tongue crept out between his lips and brushed over them, shy wondering creeping into his eyes. Kurt pushed his voice down, letting it rumble in the air between them and Blaine forget everything but him.

 

“Show me…”

 

Blaine found himself unable to resist Kurt, he tried to force his breathing to go back to a regular pattern but found himself emboldened by Kurt’s request. He dropped his hands from where they rested on Kurt’s shoulders and toyed with the lowered waistband of his pants.

 

“You want me to…” He asked, both afraid and aroused by Kurt’s clear desire for him.

 

“I do… Please, sweetheart.” Kurt’s chest was clearly heaving now, anticipation whetting his appetite for his boy.

 

His feet moved to just outside Kurt’s bent knees, his hips thrust forward just enough to tease. Inch by slow inch, Blaine moved the soft denim material down his thighs, watching Kurt’s reaction. Kurt was dying, slowly, through each inch, thumbs pressing harder into Blaine’s knees, his mouth almost watering aching to taste Blaine again. He couldn’t stop the words tumbling from his mouth, egging him on in his need. “That’s it, sweetheart. Keep going…”

 

Blaine suddenly slowed his movements down and Kurt wrenched his hands from Blaine’s knees and pulled the pants down to where his hands had been previously, the second Blaine was completely revealed to his hungry gaze, Kurt was on him, groaning into him. He didn’t, he couldn’t, want to fight the need any more. The first taste of him, again, drowned him and he knew he was lost for good. His tongue lapped at Blaine, his hands holding his boy tight against his face.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

First Cooper called Blaine’s cell and then a friend of Chandler’s called Kurt’s and now Blaine was talking on the phone once more, this time to Tina, and Kurt found himself beginning to loathe mobile phones. Really, and truly, with an odd passion. Kurt ran a hand through his loosened hair and eyed up Blaine from across the room. A small smile worked its way onto his face, despite his slight frustration, as he watched him try to talk to his best friend.

 

He really was adorable and the blush, almost constantly, staining his cheek was enough to send Kurt crazy with want.

 

Blaine was sat crossed legged on his desk, chattering happily away to Tina, whilst Kurt watched him. He was playing with a pen that Kurt had abandoned there during his earlier marking and he was very aware of Kurt’s eyes on him, hence the blush never leaving his skin.

 

This was crazy, and Kurt knew it.

 

They had taken a huge risk meeting in his classroom, ever after hours. Kurt had no idea why he’d requested it of Blaine earlier and he knew he would have to watch every single thing that he said because it seemed as if he had no self-control whatsoever around the boy. His brain had shown that it shut down and his body did, and took, exactly what it wanted to do. Which wasn’t _always_ a good thing.  He wouldn’t say he got _tongue-tied_ around Blaine but he definitely didn’t act like a responsible adult. He knew he had to be the smart one, he knew he should be telling Blaine that they couldn’t continue what they’d started and that they needed to go their separate ways and try to forget everything that had happened but he just couldn’t get his mouth to cooperate and verbalise _‘the responsible thing’_

 

He wasn’t listening to Blaine’s conversation; he didn’t find himself desperate to know any of the teenaged things he was planning, and discussing, with his friend because it would only reinforce what Kurt already knew. There was a world of difference between them. He felt so old, watching him, far older than the ten years separating them. Especially when Blaine was sat in his classroom or walking the corridors with his friends. But… When they were alone, just the two of them, all the rules and doubts left Kurt’s mind, the differences and unlawful reasons seemed of no importance.

 

Kurt was staring at him again. His eyes on the muscles of Blaine’s calves, where his legs were crossed, pulsing every time he shifted to get a little more comfortable on the wooden desk. The taste of him was still strong in Kurt’s mouth, on the roof and rolling over his tongue. Kurt was determined not to forget it, the salty sweetness of his boy. He brought two fingers to his lips and ran them across the seam of his mouth slowly, as if trying to encase the taste forever, and he didn’t realise Blaine had ended the call, nor did he acknowledge that Blaine turned his phone off, until he slowly crawled off the desk. His face was flaming red, once more, and he didn’t seem to be able to look Kurt in the eye.

 

“Kurt?” He lifted his gaze, choosing to focus on Kurt’s mouth rather than into his eyes. “Are you mad at me?”

 

“No. What makes you think that?” He was mystified, he’d been patiently waiting the entire length of the call, not even distracting Blaine like he wanted too.

 

“Well, you’re sort of frowning and you’ve got this look…” Blaine shrugged, as if he couldn’t find the words to describe the expression on Kurt’s face, uncertain about the older man’s mood.

 

“I don’t know. I just thought you might be mad at me.” Blaine risked a quick look up at Kurt and was surprised to find affection swirling in his blue eyes alongside something else he couldn’t quite identify.

 

“Don’t take this the wrong way but… I’m never quite sure around you.”

 

“Why’s that, sweetheart?” He was intrigued at how Blaine had reached that conclusion. Yes, he’d been agitated with himself at first, eating out his teenage student in the middle of his classroom hadn’t been his brightest idea, no matter how much he craved Blaine. Kurt reached out, pulling Blaine’s hand into his and interlocking his fingers into Blaine’s.

 

Blaine seemed to relax almost the second that Kurt’s hand touched his.

 

“I just…” He sighed, trying to verbalise how he felt when Kurt was around or even when he just thought about him. He took a deep breath, figuring the best plan of action would be to blurt out everything that was swimming through his mind.

 

“See, there’s these butterflies and they’re quite fond of you and every time I think of you, or talk to you, they go absolutely crazy flying around and it makes me quite fluttery as well and I know it doesn’t make much sense but I can’t explain it any better than that and…”

 

Kurt cut Blaine off, pulling him close, wrapping his arms around the boy holding him against his chest. It just didn’t seem enough for Kurt; he wanted Blaine as close as he could get him. He needed more. Kurt slid his hands up Blaine’s thighs and lifted him back onto the desk, standing between his open legs, he smoothed his palms over Blaine’s denim clad thighs and deftly unbuttoned, and unzipped, his pants before roughly pulling them down his legs so he could reach Blaine once more. He palmed across Blaine’s bare skin, still warm, and pressed his erection hard into the inner side of Blaine’s knee trying to find his own relief.

 

His mouth stopped any further explanation from Blaine and Kurt felt his boy melt into his body, his soft curves against the toned planes of Kurt’s own body. He tugged at the jeans a little bit more so Blaine could wrap his legs around Kurt’s waist, never breaking contact from their joined mouths.

 

Kurt was just about to slide his fingers into Blaine’s welcoming warmth when his phone started to vibrate in his back pocket and the handle to his classroom door began to rattle up and down. Kurt heard Rachel’s voice in the hallway and the couple froze. Blaine pulled away, panic painted over his face, and Kurt placed his palm over Blaine’s mouth gently when the boy tried to speak. He pulled Blaine back against his body in an attempt to calm him.

 

“Shh, it’s okay. She’ll go away soon. I locked the door, didn’t I?”

 

Blaine nodded quickly against Kurt’s chest, he could swear he could hear their hearts thundering against one another. _This is crazy, we shouldn’t be doing this._

 

Rachel went away after a few moments, although neither of them moved for a long time after, it was Blaine that moved away first wiping tears from his face.

 

“I have to… I can’t do this.”

 

He climbed off the desk and moved around Kurt, pulling his jeans up and grabbing his bag from where he had dropped in on the floor, heading for the door and fighting with the lock trying to open it. Kurt stared at Blaine’s movements for a moment before shooting across to his side.

 

“Blaine… Blaine, stop please. Sweetheart, come away.”

 

Blaine was almost hyperventilating, not able to get a clear breath through, hiccups sounding through the room. His fingers were still scrabbling for the lock when Kurt reached out to him. Blaine almost collapsed against him.

 

“God, Kurt. I’m scared, I’m so scared.”

 

“I know, honey, I know. “ He held onto Blaine, tightly, his own panic dying down in the face of Blaine’s, knowing he needed Kurt more than Kurt needed to break down. “It’s going to be okay, I promise. Please don’t cry, Blaine.”

 

 

“I just don’t know how I’m supposed to do all this. Baby and Sebastian, that dumbass, and now you. And, oh gosh, Coop and everything dad said.” All of Blaine’s fears came tumbling out, floodgates opened by the scare of the possibility of Rachel finding Blaine with his jeans ‘round his knees and Kurt between his legs and Blaine couldn’t stem the tide of emotions. Kurt was the only one that just let him cry, or laugh, or just be. Everyone else seemed to look at him like he was an alien, or something, they always looked on with judgemental eyes.  Even Tina looked at him a bit oddly sometimes and he hated it, he hated all the challenges that had happened before he had even got a grip of his situation. He wasn’t ready for any of this; he wasn’t ready to be someone’s world, to be a daddy, not on his own.

 

The only time Blaine didn’t feel alone was when he was with Kurt. He didn’t treat Blaine any differently, well except for the way he touched him. Kurt ushered Blaine back over to his desk and sat down in the large chair behind it pulling Blaine onto his lap and cradling the boy against his chest, his voice murmuring low against Blaine’s heated cheek. They were nonsense words, mainly noise, but it didn’t matter. It was his voice, his arms holding him and Blaine knew there was nothing better than this.  He was safe with Kurt.

 

The flow of tears stopped almost as quickly as they have arrived and Kurt grimaced when Blaine wiped his nose on Kurt’s shoulder.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Hey, free pass. But don’t go snotting on all of my shirts, please. Some of them are worth more than I’d earn in a month now.” He half smiled down at Blaine, wiping away the tears sticking to his cheeks.

 

“Cross my heart. Gosh, I just need to stop being so emotional.” Blaine pushed away and out of Kurt’s arms, he stood in front of Kurt and took a deep breath. “This isn’t a good idea.”

 

Kurt sighed and stood up with him and kissed him softly before Blaine could say anything further.

 

“I know, sweetheart, we shouldn’t be doing this. It’s not exactly legal; I’m years older than you and your teacher but Blaine…” He looked down into Blaine’s amber eyes and cupped his face in his palms. “I don’t care; I don’t want to let you go.”

“I don’t either but meeting like this is insanity.” Blaine’ voice was a soft breath over the skin of Kurt’s hands and Kurt leant down to kiss him again.

 

“So we don’t meet here. Ever.” He pressed his lips to Blaine’s once more and any resistance that Blaine had left melted under Kurt’s insistence. “Okay? Just not here.”

 

Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt’s waist, his face pressing back into his chest just over his beating heart. “Okay.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

They waited just over half an hour before they thought about venturing outside the classroom. Just after they had agreed that it would be safe to leave Kurt’s phone rang again and this time, in a valiant effort to keep his hands from wandering over Blaine again, he answered it.

 

It was the school’s music tutor, Mercedes Jones, wanting to clarify a few things with him that she kept forgetting to go over with him during their weekly meetings regarding the upcoming Theatre trip. Including how get around a few restrictions put in place. They were the only two, senior, teachers going on the trip and both of them had been trying to avoid sharing a room with their colleagues. Mercedes had been trying to get Kurt to agree to share a room with her boyfriend so that they could swap after the students were tucked away in their own room.

 

Blaine watched him as he talked, the same way Kurt had been watching him earlier when he had been talking to Tina, Kurt never seemed to stay still. He was up and pacing the room again, phone clutched to his ear and gesturing with his spare hand. Blaine’s eyes were riveted to his forearm, watching the play of muscles as he moved it around. Blaine found Kurt’s form deceptive. He was tall, sure, he didn’t look that strong or imposing but he had an indefinable something that drew everyone’s attention to him. Blaine had seen, first hand, how people practically swooned around him. Kurt made it seem so easy, even Coach Sue seemed to leave Kurt alone when he needed it. It was only Miss Berry that wasn’t effect by Kurt’s presence but now Blaine knew their relationship wasn’t as black and white as everyone else thought so he put it down to that.

 

Yes, Kurt might not look strong but he definitely was. Blaine knew that much. Even though they hadn’t spoken about it Blaine had the rough guidelines over what had happened the afternoon Sebastian and Sam had fought. Kurt had pretty much clotheslined Sebastian, knocking him clear off of his feet, without even breaking a sweat. Blaine didn’t know why he found Kurt’s strength so impressive but he really did and watching the play of Kurt’s muscles under his skin Blaine didn’t think that height and weight were all that important when it came to sheer power. He had a feeling that Kurt could more than take care of things if it was important to him.

 

He was so caught up watching Kurt move around that he didn’t notice him end the call. Perched on the edge of Kurt’s desk, for the third time that afternoon, Blaine had a wistful smile on his face that drew Kurt’s attention.

 

“What’s on your mind, sweetheart?” His voice startled him and Blaine blushed again at being caught daydreaming.

 

“Nothing. I was just… watching you.” Blaine ducked his head so that Kurt wouldn’t be able to see just how flushed his face had gotten.

 

Kurt tilted his head, a grin on his face. “Like what you see?” He sashayed closer to Blaine, almost prowling, “Hm?”

 

“Oh my gosh.” Blaine breathed out, his eyes large and wide, staring at Kurt’s movements. “You are gorgeous.”

 

Kurt spluttered out a laugh at Blaine’s awe. “Me?”

 

Blaine nodded his agreement quickly.

 

“Oh, not me, honey.”

 

Blaine laughed back at Kurt “You know you are.”

 

Kurt reached for him then, his arms sliding around Blaine, his voice low pitched and almost at a growl. “Why don’t you show me?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Mr Anderson we cannot allow you to go on this trip. Your ‘sudden weight gain’ dictates that.” Blaine sat in Coach’s Sue’s office whilst the shrew of a woman denied Blaine’s request to go on the seniors Theatre trip.

 

“What? But I really wanted to go.” Blaine knew that people would begin to start to treat him differently but he never expected this kind of reaction.

 

“Don’t play dumb mini-gay. The whole school knows you have a bun in your oven. As does the school board. Your ‘situation’ has forced the Board to make adjustments for you. Now, I don’t like letting students have the upper hand. If it was my choice the four eyed weirdo in the wheelchair wouldn’t even be allowed in the school and there would be stairs everywhere. You, Mr Anderson, have no future.”

 

Sue Sylvester had a sadistic, nasty little smirk on her face as she delivered the news to Blaine, uncaring of the emotional state of the boy in front of her.

 

“There will be no more adjustments, Mr Anderson. No excuses for lateness or absences, and everything will count. And you will not be going with the seniors to Los Angeles.”

 

He started to protest and Sue’s smile just got wider, the gleam in her eyes positively malicious. “No, Mr Anderson, there is no recourse.” She got up, moving to the door of his office. “Have an awful day.”

 

And he had no choice but to leave.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Tina was practically bouncing in her seat, so excited about getting the chance to travel to LA _and_ get to see a professional play in the same trip. Blaine was trying desperately to hide his disappointment from his friend and it was, amazingly and possibly for the first time ever, working. Tina had enough enthusiasm for the both of them.

 

Blaine knew there were tears just below the surface, threatening to break their way out at the first sign of Kurt. He didn’t want to always be crying in Kurt’s presence but it was just so easy to let go when he was around, he didn’t expect Blaine to be happy and chirpy all the time, he didn’t expect Blaine to be strong, he didn’t expect anything from him and Blaine wanted to curl up in Kurt’s arms and… Just be.

 

He knew he couldn’t though, and it wasn’t just because he didn’t want Kurt to see him crying again, it was daylight and in the middle of a school day. It had been almost two weeks since the near disaster in Kurt’s classroom and aside from the everyday classes and passing in the corridors every now and again the two men had only managed a handful of, very brief, moments together.

 

Blaine heard the bell ring to signal their next class was about to begin and he suddenly realised he couldn’t sit in Kurt’s class at all. He mumbled a small excuse to Tina about not feeling well and darted in the opposite direction of Kurt’s classroom.

 

* * *

 

 

Kurt’s life had been reduced to counting down the hours between each time he could see Blaine. It was complete insanity, he was driven crazy by a boy ten years his junior. Every time he saw Blaine, even just in passing, another little bit of his heart left with Blaine. Every time he touched him, he put himself in danger of losing his job at the very least but he couldn’t find it in himself to stop.

 

They had begun to meet at a park about twenty minutes away from Blaine’s house, a place they knew no-one would think to look for them. Kurt didn’t miss the irony that he was meeting his underage boyfriend in a play park for children.

 

As much as it killed him Kurt wasn’t allowing anything past heavy kissing and it really was killing him. He walked around with almost a perpetual erection and no matter how many times he ducked into a bathroom or relieved himself in his morning showers it came right back as soon as he thought of Blaine again which seemed to be almost constantly. Kurt wasn’t fooling himself, however, he knew that the situation wasn’t going to last much longer, he wanted Blaine too badly; he almost ached to touch his boy.

 

Kurt was pacing the length of his classroom, waiting for his sixth period class to finish filtering their way in to the room and when Tina came in alone Kurt instantly knew something wasn’t right. If Blaine wasn’t with her – the two were almost inseparable during school hours – there was definitely something wrong. Especially if the boy didn’t come to _his_ class. Kurt knew his room was the only place in the building Blaine felt completely safe, it was _his_ room and Kurt was always there so Blaine knew he had sanctuary. Kurt knew he wouldn’t be able to make a big deal of her absence, even if he was worrying out of his mind, he had to force himself to shrug it off and act as nonchalantly as he could. Even if his mind was racing a mile a minute.

 

Kurt called his class to order and he focused on his lesson plan, trying to push Blaine’s absence out of his mind.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter pushed this story just over the 50k word mark! Geeeeze... I only planned for about 20 at most... Whoops? Ah well! Enjoy everybody :) x

The house was empty once more; Cooper had left for Michigan that morning on another roadshow trip. He wouldn’t be back until the sixteenth and the fact it was only the eighth today and Blaine was already feeling a little bit lonely didn’t bode well. He was proud of Cooper for where he had worked to in the small company and he earned a lot more money when he did the longer trips but the house felt more solitary than it did on the long trips. Kurt would be leaving for LA on the same day that Cooper came home and he wouldn’t be back until the nineteenth which was the last day of classes before their Christmas break. 

Blaine put his books down on his desk and flopped, face down, on to his bed and that was when he let the tears fall. He had really wanted to go on the trip, he wanted it for the opportunity of being in a professional theatre as well as doing everything that everyone else his age was doing, and he wanted to feel normal just for a little while. Part of him wanted to pretend that he wasn’t pregnant, he wasn’t alone and scared out of his mind and wasn’t in love with his twenty seven year old English teacher.

 _In love? No…_ Blaine reached up and grabbed a stuffed elephant that was lying next to his pillow and hugged it close to his chest. Cooper had given him the toy on his sixth birthday and it was one of the only things that he had made sure he brought from his parents’ home when he left a few years ago. Blaine rolled the thought through his head a few times. _I’m in love with my teacher. I’m in love with Mr Hummel. I’m in love with Kurt Hummel. I’m in love with Kurt. Oh, my gosh._

Blaine rolled over onto his side, still clutching the toy, a watery smile on his face.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Blaine’s phone was off. Kurt had tried calling him twice, not daring to leave a message in case someone else managed to get a hold of his phone. Blaine had completely disappeared from school, Kurt had gone along to the school office to check if he had seen the nurse, or even just told Rachel’s PA that he was going home but there was no record of him leaving the school. Kurt continued to worry throughout the afternoon but his gut told him that even if Blaine had left the school for some horrible reason he would still meet him at the park, at the normal time, that night and he would be able to question the boy then. Kurt had missed the last two open mic nights in favour of seeing Blaine instead, as much as he loved performing he cared for Blaine more and Blaine was more important to his all-round well-being.

 

Pacing within the small area of tiled flooring of his kitchen floor wasn’t helping Kurt’s nerves, he kept picturing Blaine wandering around his house, curled up on his sofa, sitting beside him or even on his lap. His frustration made his movements jerky as he started to push dishes away from his failed attempt at an early dinner. He needed to keep himself busy, doing something, doing anything to keep his thoughts away from Blaine. He blew out a large breath. _Yeah, because not thinking of Blaine has worked so well in the past._ He stood still for a moment, one hand braced on the cold kitchen counter, the other reaching out for his phone. _I’ll just call him once more._

 

He almost growled when he heard the, ever increasingly, familiar tones of Blaine’s voicemail. Kurt put the phone down on the counter he had been leaning on, very carefully, even though he wanted nothing more than to throw it at something, at anything, in frustration. He walked out of the kitchen, both dogs following him closely behind, and stood under the archway leading to his front room. He looked up at the large clock above the mantelpiece and realised it was almost two hours before their usual meeting time and he knew he wasn’t going to last until then. His gaze shifted to the empty sofa. Anger and irritation continued to course through him, no matter how irrational he knew he was being, he couldn’t stop it.

Kurt took one more look at the clock and quickly grabbed his keys from the coffee table, he had to see Blaine, and now, seeing him later just wouldn’t cut it. He swung open his front door and found Rachel and Jesse standing there, Rachel’s hand raised to ring the house’s bell.

 

“Just stopped by to see if you wanted some dinner? Jesse’s going to be choreographing for a show choir two towns over for the next two weeks so we wanted to celebrate.”

 

Kurt stifled the groan that was threatening its way up his throat and he motioned them inside, he hated to admit it but them showing up at his door was definitely some kind of divine intervention and he wasn’t foolish enough to ignore it. He just needed to let Blaine know he might be a little late tonight…

 

 

* * *

 

 

Blaine had fallen asleep on his bed, without getting under the covers or changing his clothes, something that was happening to him with increasing regularity. Blaine liked naps as much as the next person but he was beginning to worry if it was normal just how much he was actually sleeping and if he should mention it to his doctor next time he saw him. Blaine stretched out on his bed, loosening his tight muscles, and almost wished he could just curl back up into a ball and stay there but the pressure of his bladder and his stomach growling, in hunger, told him he needed to get up.

 

Blaine washed his hands in the small sink in his bathroom, once he had finished, and looked at his reflection in the mirror. The dark circles seemed ever present and his eyes almost seemed a dull, flat brown rather than his normal bright amber. He sighed, he couldn’t go and see Kurt looking as grey as he did. He stripped out of his clothes and stepped into his waiting shower. Hopefully he would be on time for Kurt tonight.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Dinner with Jesse and Rachel was a quick and painless affair, all things considered, but it had given Kurt the possible reason why Blaine hadn’t been present in his lesson that afternoon. Rachel made an offhand comment that Sue Sylvester’s campaign to humiliate and degrade the students one by one had found its latest target. Kurt had only been half listening at that point but the second part of Rachel’s sentence had caught his attention.

 

“Apparently Sue has refused to allow Blaine Anderson a waiver that would allow him to go on the seniors trip.”

 

Kurt froze, his tense posture went unnoticed by his best friend but Jesse watched him curiously. It was the look he saw in Jesse’s eyes and the questioning manner of his expression that clued Kurt into the abnormality of his reaction. He quickly shook himself off and recovered before Jesse could comment on anything, mumbling a question to Rachel.

 

“Well Sue told him, in no uncertain terms, that he wasn’t allowed any more concessions and that there would be no different measures put in to place for him at all.” Rachel stabbed at the broccoli on her plate her displeasure at having to answer to the older women obvious.

 

Kurt sat back in his chair, looking at his best friend. “What?”

 

“No more absences, no more lateness. Blaine has to be a model student again.” Rachel had such a look of distaste on her face that Kurt stopped eating.

 

“Do you agree with her?”

 

Rachel’s head shot up swiftly, her eyes meeting Kurt’s for the first time since the conversation had begun.

 

“No. I don’t. Sue Sylvester is, was and always will be, an abhorrent troll. What she’s doing is wrong.” Rachel shook her head. “Blaine needs compassion and help, not more obstacles in his way.”

 

Jesse’s curiosity got the better of him at this. “What’s wrong with him?”

 

Kurt took a sharp breath. “Nothing. He’s pregnant, he’s seventeen and the father wants nothing to do with them both. He’s possibly one of the smartest boys I’ve ever taught.” Kurt stopped himself from going any further, knowing that if he did he would betray his feelings for Blaine.

 

“Blaine scored almost perfect marks on his SAT’s and he has a very bright future ahead of him. He’s a very charming boy.” Rachel put in her two cents regarding Blaine and then added, “Although, like Kurt said, his home situation isn’t ideal. The poor boy is going through a very hard time.”

 

Jesse made all the appropriate responses to the two teacher’s explanations but his eyes never left the food on his plate. He had a feeling that Kurt was more involved, and affected by this, than he was letting on. But Jesse knew better, from various scathing comments made when he was younger, to stick his nose in so he held his tongue.

 

Kurt made a few excuses not long after they had changed the topic of conversation, leaving his part of the cheque and heading out the door. Jesse simply watched the man go, contemplating their evening, as he reached for his phone.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Blaine received Kurt’s cryptic text message after he, eventually, climbed out of his warm shower. He wondered what it could be that was keeping him but he knew it would be something Kurt couldn’t argue his way out of, he wouldn’t lose time with Blaine over nothing. Instead of going out at the normal time, Blaine left it half an hour longer before heading outside.

 

It was getting a lot colder out and Blaine had grabbed a blanket and folded it into his worn satchel before he left the house. Usually one of them brought something they could sit on in the park and Blaine found himself hoping Kurt brought one too, they could use one to sit on and wrap one around the two of them, it was too cold just to be sat outside. Blaine wandered through the tree shaded pathway to get to ‘their spot’ and thought back to what Sue had told him earlier. Her, hurtful, words echoed through the ones that Blaine’s own father had made and, once more, Blaine found himself taking deep breaths to prevent the tears from falling.

 

Blaine kicked a pebble down the path and grumbled a little when it went too far into the darkness. It had been a good distraction.

 

Kurt watched as Blaine approached, a smile creeping onto his face when he caught glimpses of Blaine mumbling to himself. “Hello gorgeous.”

 

“Kurt!” Blaine almost tripped over his own feet in his haste to close the gap between the two of them. He practically flew into Kurt’s arms and let out a large sigh of relief when Kurt opened his arms automatically and swept him into his embrace, wrapping him securely with his long arms.

 

“Missed you.”

 

Blaine nuzzled into Kurt’s neck, inhaling his scent deeply. “I missed you too. I was getting so tired, I just needed to sleep.”

 

Kurt knew Blaine wasn’t telling him the whole truth, it might have been true that he was tired but he knew, even second hand from Rachel, that was only partially the reason Blaine had gone home early.

 

“So Sue Sylvester being utterly intolerable wasn’t why you went home?”

 

Blaine lifted his head, from the warm spot he’d created against the column of Kurt’s neck, and glanced up at the older man.

 

“Maybe a little. She was rotten.”

 

“Ignore her as much as you can sweetheart, unfortunately age hasn’t mellowed her.” Blaine reached into his bag to put out the blanket he had taken from home and passed it to Kurt. They walked a bit further before they reached their destination. There was a small, abandoned, shed at the far left side of the park and it afforded them more shelter from the cold wind air than other areas. Kurt splayed the blanket out across the floor and sat down first, pulling Blaine down into his embrace once more.

“Have you eaten?”

 

“Yes. Cooper left me food and lists of which food to eat on which day.”

 

Kurt stayed quiet. Cooper’s frequent trips were beginning to bother him slightly. He knew that the two brothers needed money but it seemed like he was never home. “How long will he be gone for?” Kurt snaked his arms around Blaine’s middle and worked one hand under his top, his long fingers brushing over an, already, hardened nipple.

 

“Ooh! Cold hand!” Blaine tried wiggling away from him but Kurt just laughed into Blaine’s ear and pulled him closer.

 

“He’ll be back either on the sixteenth or just after. Enough time to get ready for Christmas.” Blaine smiled a little, in the darkness. “Geeze. This time next year that’ll be me, the grown up trying to get everything ready for Christmas.”

 

Kurt pictured Blaine, bathed in the glow of various Christmas lights, surrounded by rolls and rolls of wrapping paper and bows, baby toys scattered around the floor ready to be wrapped up. The smell of pine, spiced apples and vanilla enveloping him. The fact that imaginary-Blaine was in his living room didn’t register, with Kurt, until Blaine started humming a Christmas song.

 

“I love Christmas, it’s so difficult to be sad with all the cheer. Did you ever have a Christmas in New York?” Blaine shifted in Kurt’s arms, looking up at him, eyes almost automatically dropping to fix on Kurt’s mouth.

 

“It’s not like here. Everything gets decorated; there are sales at almost every turning. Very themed.” Kurt had a wistful look in his eyes as he continued to tell Blaine about his first Christmas in New York. The one he always remembers was the first, it was before his dad had gotten really ill, Rachel was between boyfriends so it was just a best-friend-fest all the time. He sometimes thought that was why he always looked back on the first one rather than the rest. The one after that he had been trying to help his dad cover medical expenses and hadn’t had enough money to travel back home.

 

There were tears gathering in Blaine’s eyes when Kurt had finished but Kurt guessed it was in response to his story. He hadn’t meant to say the last bit, about his dad, out loud but the expression on Blaine’s face told a different story.

 

“Oh Kurt…” Blaine pulled his head down, lips meeting each other in a comforting kiss. Blaine could think of no other way to show how sorry he was that something so awful had happened to someone as wonderful as Kurt. He wasn’t entirely sure which one of them he was seeking to comfort but he knew they both needed.

 

Kurt held Blaine tight against his chest, the chill around them whistling through the air and he made a silent promise to himself, and for Blaine, that someday he would take care of his boy, he would have a Christmas with him even happier than the first one he had experienced in New York and it would be magical because they would be a family.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The couple had no almost no free moments together for the next few days and they only managed brief meetings in passing after school behind a building that wasn’t used, for classes, anymore. The temperature had gotten far too low to be outside but what deterred them was the rain. Kurt was beginning to think that some-one was conspiring against them when the rain didn’t let up for almost four days and nights but as quickly as it started, it changed and the temperature almost skyrocketed and there was not even a breeze to be spoken of.

 

The weather cleared up just in time for Kurt to leave. It was the night before the seniors were due to leave for LA and the couple found themselves in their spot in the evening, Blaine cradled in Kurt’s arms.

 

“Are you sure you’ll be okay, sweetheart?”

 

Blaine sighed, his warm breath tickling Kurt’s hands where they were folded over the younger boys chest. “I’ll be fine. Coop will be home sometime tomorrow. Please don’t worry.”

 

“I’m always going to worry about my boy.” Kurt mumbled against the back of Blaine’s head and he didn’t realise what he had said until Blaine twisted round so he could look up at him.

 

“Your… Boy? Am I… Are we boyfriends?” He paused, looking for the answer in his eyes.

 

Kurt shifted his arms and ran a thumb down Blaine’s cheekbones, his other hand curving around his head, holding the boy almost in place. “You are. We are. Just because I can’t take you out and show you off right now doesn’t mean I don’t plan to.”

 

Blaine had a strange look on his face, something Kurt hadn’t seen on him before, and it confused him for a long minute. Perhaps he had said it too soon, or had misinterpreted their situation and Blaine didn’t actually feel the same way about him.

 

“I think… I call you that, in my head, boyfriend. I mean. I know you’re not exactly a _boy._ Well, I mean you are a boy, obviously you have the… parts but I mean-“

 

Blaine was cut off by Kurt pushing his lips against Blaine’s open mouth, kissing shortly and sweetly.

 

“You’re rambling, Blaine. It’s adorable as anything but I understand your point.” Kurt’s broad smile, showing off his teeth, and twinkling eyes were enough to tell Blaine that he had been happy with Blaine’s reply.

 

Blaine pouted a little bit and it took a lot of Kurt’s self-control not to lean in a nibble his way across Blaine’s protruding lip.

 

“You aren’t just saying that… Are you?”

 

Kurt struggled to follow Blaine’s line of thought and furrowed his brow. “Saying what?”

 

“That I’m your boyfriend.” Blaine ducked his head, too shy and afraid to meet Kurt’s eyes.

 

Kurt kissed his temple, lifted his chin, forcing Blaine to look at him. “I’d never lie to you, Blaine. There’s _only_ you.”

 

Kurt didn’t say anything more, afraid Blaine would be frightened off, but he was thinking it. Thinking about Blaine being more than just his boyfriend in the future. He wasn’t prepared to let Blaine go anytime in the near future. If he wasn’t so afraid that Blaine wouldn’t be ready for any solid commitment he’d tell the boy exactly how he felt, all the thoughts that kept him up late at night.

 

Blaine’s eyes flitted between Kurt’s gaze and the grass they sat on. He looked for any sign that Kurt was playing with his emotions. Blaine had never had some-one that cared for him unconditionally. His parents always depended on their moods and when he was younger Cooper’s ambitions always came first. Blaine realised at a young age that his parents had a love/hate relationship and Blaine was kept in the shadows. Sebastian had only ever told Blaine he loved him when he wanted something from him. Over and over he said it but when it came to the first sign of trouble he bolted. Blaine wasn’t stupid, he knew that wasn’t real love. But Kurt… He never said the words, he didn’t toss them about easily and yet his actions kept proving that he _did_ care for Blaine. Blaine hoped that it was love, hoped it would develop into love if it wasn’t quite there yet, but he was quite certain that he had fallen for Kurt.

 

Blaine’s hand came up to cup Kurt’s cheek, his thumb running across Kurt’s lips, a winsome smile across his face. Blaine kissed him, his lips soft and pliant under Kurt’s and Kurt couldn’t hold back the groan building in his throat, deepening the kiss.

 

 

* * *

 

 

When Blaine got home from school the following day Cooper had already returned, unpacked and was napping in his room. Blaine had had a miserable day at school. Almost all his classes were empty, Tina wasn’t around and nor was Kurt.

Thankfully Sam wasn’t in Advanced Lit so he was still in school but he wasn’t much help for Blaine’s mood since Santana _had_ gone on the trip and he was moping around after her absence. They had stuck together, solemnly, for day neither one of them in the happiest of moods. Sam chalked up Blaine’s dampened mood to his crazy pregnancy hormones and not having Tina to chat back and forth with and he had tried his best to cheer Blaine up but it was obvious to both of them that his heart just wasn’t in it.

 

Blaine had been allowed to leave McKinley early due to his final two classes being empty. He came home to a card for himself and a note indicating there was a tracked letter waiting for Cooper to collect at the post office.

 

Blaine left the note out by Cooper’s car keys so his brother would see it and climbed the stairs to his bedroom, the card addressed too him held in his hand. It wasn’t until he was lying on his bed, with the envelope open, that he realised who the card was from. It was just a little ‘missing you’ note but it was addressed to ‘My Sweetheart’ and signed ‘Always.’ There was no name but there was no mistaking who had sent Blaine the note. He didn’t need a signature.

 

Blaine pushed some tearaway hair away from his forehead and slid the letter under his mattress before leaning off the edge of the bed to get his homework out from his satchel.

 

Hours later Blaine’s phone began to vibrate on his desk, Blaine thought about not answering it but when it continued to vibrate incessantly he unlocked his phone and was greeted with a voice that sounded so close it could have been right next to him.

 

“Hello gorgeous.”


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have absolutely no excuse as to why this is so late! :( (Although yesterday was my partner's thirty-fifth birthday so I've been rather busy with that!) I hope you enjoy :)

Cooper kept hold of the registered letter for a couple of days before he even thought about opening it. He had never received a tracked letter that held good news and he knew, for some reason, that this one would be no different. He had moved it from the living room into his bedroom, it sat on his dresser and every time he walked past it he thought about opening it but quickly changed his mind. He was too busy trying to get everything ready for Christmas for Blaine to deal with it.

 

But, once more, standing in front of his dresser he knew he was just avoiding the issue. The letter, and its contents, weren’t going anywhere any time soon. He didn’t _want_ to read whatever the letter contained. Determined to ignore it once more, Cooper walked away and grabbed the rest of the Christmas decorations from their box. The holiday was a week away and it was time the house started to look like it. Maybe if the house looked brighter then Blaine would stop moping around and brighten up with it.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kurt had called Blaine every single night whilst he was away and every phone call lasted for what seemed like hours. It was easier for Blaine, he felt uncensored over the phone, he didn’t have to worry about breaking down under Kurt’s piercing gaze however, on the other hand, it was a lot harder, at the same time, because Blaine wished that they could be exactly the way he imagined it every night. Curled up together on his bed, face pillowed comfortably on Kurt’s chest, his arm scooped carefully around Blaine’s shoulders and his voice almost muffled through Blaine’s natural curls.

 

But they were all coming back today, sometime around three if he remembered correctly, and Kurt wanted to see him tonight. Needed to see him, or so he said, so Blaine was taking extra care getting ready for school, his mind so focussed on Kurt’s return that he didn’t hear Cooper’s knock on his bedroom door. He jumped slightly when he heard Cooper’s voice from the bedroom doorway.

 

“Squirt, I’m going to need you to explain this letter to me.”

 

Blaine turned himself, confused and wide eyed, to face his brother. He shrugged his shoulders.

 

“What letter?”

 

“The letter from Sebastian’s attorney.” Cooper held the letter open so that Blaine would take it from his hands.

 

“I didn’t know you got a letter from them.”

 

Cooper’s voice, when he finally spoke, was slightly higher in pitch and Blaine could hear the emotion in in. “Well, Blaine, this letter says the Smythe’s offered you seventy-five thousand dollars to see the backside of their son exiting your life.”

 

“I don’t know…” Blaine shrugged again, he didn’t want to argue with his brother first thing in the morning. “Please, Coop, can this wait until later?”

 

“No. Blaine. It can’t.” Cooper folded his arms across his chest, watching his little brother intently. “Were you planning on telling me?”

 

Blaine shrugged once more, unwilling to admit that he probably wouldn’t have ever told Cooper about their offer. He dropped the letter on his bed, not wanting to touch it anymore.

 

“It’s a lot of money Blaine. It’s not something you should just shrug at.” Cooper was noticeably upset, not only because Blaine was clearly refusing the money, because he hadn’t even thought Cooper needed to know.

 

Blaine was starting to get angry at the way Cooper was speaking to him, he tried to control his emotions but it wasn’t proving easy. “These are the people who wanted me to get an abortion, Coop. I don’t trust them and this is _my_ decision.” He moved away from his closet, around the other side of the bed.

 

“ _No_ , Blaine. This is not just your decision. I’m your guardian until you’re eighteen and I have a right to know about these kinds of things!” Cooper grabbed the letter from Blaine’s bed and waved it around for emphasis. “You shouldn’t make this choice on your own, you aren’t an adult yet!”

 

Blaine felt his face flare up and he turned around to face his brother. “I am an adult Cooper, I’m adult enough to make these decisions. Especially the hard ones. I will do what’s best for me and _my_ baby and I don’t think seventy-five thousand is enough to absolve Sebastian. If you don’t like it, I’m sorry, but that’s it.”

 

Cooper threw the letter back down. “The offer’s been upped, Blaine. Think about it. We’re struggling enough as it is.” He ground out the last portion, his emotions being taken over by anger.

 

Cooper left his room and his anger shone through when he slammed Blaine’s door behind him.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Aside from being away from Blaine for three days the trip to LA was refreshing and not that bad overall. It had given Kurt a chance to speak to Mercedes and her boyfriend and to reflect on his own relationship. He was grateful he had agreed to Mercedes’ little plan to spend the nights with her boyfriend because it meant he could spend hours, each night, talking to Blaine and, even though he had to resort to taking care of himself after every call, it was worth it.

 

Although he couldn’t remember masturbating this much since he was a teenager and it was a little strange but he didn’t expect any more of Blaine than he was willing to give and he had a feeling that Blaine just wasn’t ready for them to have sex. Never mind that Blaine wasn’t ready for sex, it was almost impossible for them to meet anywhere but their play park. They couldn’t risk being seen in public, couldn’t risk Blaine being seen going in and out of Kurt’s house and there was no way Kurt could go to Blaine’s. It would have been a lot easier if Blaine knew how to drive, they could have a place to meet up outside Lima, that would be something Kurt would have to change soon. The Winter season was still kicking in and whilst Ohio didn’t get _as_ cold as some States it did get chilly at night, and tended to rain a lot, so he didn’t want to risk Blaine getting ill from being out so late.

 

The bus ride back to Lima wasn’t pleasant in the slightest, the drive turned into a disaster from the moment the kids were all on board. Traffic was backed up from the minute they’d left the hotel and now, an hour and a half into the drive, everyone was restless, grumbling and complaining about the lack of movement. Kurt was sat up the front, trying to read, when the sound of raised voices reached him however he didn’t recognise any of the voices involved he so he put down his book and reluctantly climbed to his feet to try and settle the students.

  

He made his way to the back of the bus, where the raised voices were coming from, and was surprised enough to stop dead in his tracks. Tina was on her feet her face flushed, bright spots of colour on her coloured cheeks, venomous words spitting from her tongue. She was faced off against Sebastian and Quinn who were two seats being her. Quinn was on her feet in the aisle whilst Sebastian sat with his back against the window. They were surrounded by a small group of students, most of them students by the normally quiet girl verbally ripping into Quinn and Sebastian.

 

Tina paused to take a deep breath, her hands fluttering around in her agitated state, and Kurt took the gap as an opportunity to put a stop to it all. “Okay! What’s going on back here?”

 

Wary eyes turned toward him as the students began to register his presence. Enraged brown eyes met his and Tina spluttered something that vaguely resembled English, trying to explain what had been happening.

 

Kurt raised his right hand, cutting her off. “I don’t need the bitty details, Miss Cohen-Chang, I think I can imagine what was going on.”

 

“No! You cannot be so nice to her. She was saying horrid things!” Quinn flounced backwards and happened to land on Sebastian’s lap, instead of her seat, and giving Kurt an indignant pout that reminded him of a toddler.

 

“Miss Fabray? Remove your body from Mr Smythe’s lap and place it in an acceptable seat and wipe that look off of your face, it doesn’t suit you.”

 

Sebastian muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like an insult to Kurt, and in response, Kurt raised one eyebrow.

 

“Do you care to share your opinion with the rest of us Mr Smythe?” When Sebastian remained silent, Kurt nodded.

 

“I didn’t think so. I think the best step is detention, tomorrow. For everyone and the next person to raise their voice will be suspended.” He waited patiently, looking directly at Sebastian, almost daring the boy to speak however the teen remained stubbornly silent.

 

Leaving the students, he headed back to his seat.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Cooper was sitting at the dining room table when Blaine came through the archway, the letter on plain sight in the table by Cooper’s folded hands. He had been staring at the envelope for more than a few minutes trying to figure out way to make Blaine see his reasonings lay where the offer was concerned. One hundred thousand dollars would go a long way in making sure Blaine and the baby had everything they needed, it would ensure Blaine would be able to go to a decent college _and_ afford day-care with both of them working their fingers to the bones and still barely scraping by. It would help Blaine’s situation enormously.

 

Cooper never once questioned the motives behind the gesture; he was taking it at face value. To him it was simple; the money was enough to make up for the lack of a father in the baby’s life.

 

Blaine took one look at his brother sat at the table and knew he had been stewing about the letter all afternoon. Blaine took a deep breath and tried to head off the coming storm.

 

“No workshops today?”

 

“No, Nicky took over for me for the day. I wanted to get some stuff done around here.” Cooper pointed to the chair opposite him. “Squirt, sit down so we can talk.”

 

“Coop, I really don’t want to do this.” Blaine scrunched up his eyebrows and made an uncomfortable face, shifting from one foot to the other, reluctant to join his older brother at the table.

 

Cooper sat back in his chair and watching his little brother squirm. “Blaine. It wasn’t a question.”

 

Blaine hesitate, torn between wanting to get this over with and calm his nerves and wanting to avoid it altogether. Resignation washed over him when he caught the no-nonsense look on Cooper’s face. “Okay. I just need the bathroom first.”

 

Nodding his head in agreement Cooper watched Blaine go, his thoughts still dancing around the arguments he had formulated to coerce his brother. Blaine was back in the room quickly, making himself comfortable on the chair offered to him, and prepared to face whatever Cooper had come up with to talk him out of refusing the money.

 

Cooper ran one hand through his un-styled hair and sighed.

 

“First of all. I know we’ve always decided things together since you came to live with me but I need you to listen to me as an adult now, Blaine. This is a lot of money. You and I both know mom and dad have this kind of money but they aren’t going to be coughing up a dime for us and I want the best for you, squirt. That’s why I said yes when you couldn’t stay at home anymore. I want you to be happy and have everything you need. The point is that the Smythe’s are offering you, and the baby, a stepping stone to _the best_ and I think the smart thing to do would be to grab it with both hands.”

 

“It’s not enough, Coop. For either of us. It might last, what, ten years? It won’t even get us to her being a teenager and what about college for her? I couldn’t use this money to give myself an education I can’t provide for her.” Blaine was shaking his head, refuting everything Cooper had just argued. “The expenses add up to way more than they’re offering and, god, Coop. It’s just wrong.”

 

“What’s wrong?” Cooper looked across at Blaine, confused at his last statement.

 

Blaine sighed again, trying to corral his scattered thoughts. “What they want to do. What they want me to agree to. This is blood money, they want to buy me off so I’ll disappear and leave Seb alone so he can go and do whatever he wants.” Blaine fought back sudden tears. “It’s not fair, I didn’t get pregnant alone but I have to face it all alone. She’s just as much his responsibility as she is mine and he shouldn’t be able to just sign us away and forget.

 

Cooper knew Blaine had a point but he wasn’t ready to concede completely. “There was never a guarantee that he would stick around, Blainey, men walk out on their families on a daily basis. Do you not think you’d be better taking the money and forgetting about him so we can all move on?”

 

“No, I still think it’s wrong and I don’t…” He paused, once more trying to find the right words without bursting into tears. “I don’t need him to stick around later, this isn’t what this is about. This is about him owning up to the fact that this is his baby, it’s about him knowing what he’s lost every month when he signs away another support cheque. It’s about him and me. Not you, or mom and dad or anyone else.” Blaine looked away from the soft gaze of his brother’s eyes, his jaw clenched and squared. He wasn’t going to back down from this decision.

 

“Beside, Coop you should know, after taking me in, just how expensive kids are and you know that offer isn’t enough.”

 

Blaine’s tone was no longer watery and had gotten hard with his closing statement and unwilling to continue the discussion, he got up from the table and walked out of the room.

 

“I’ve got homework to finish, let me know if you want me to make my own dinner later.”

 

 

* * *

 

Kurt had a raging headache by the time he got all the student’s off of the bus and into the custody of their parents and guardians. It was times like these that he almost hated teenagers and Kurt was convinced they were all of demonic origin and bus trips with them were the tool of the devil, designed to inflict torture that would have made Lucifer himself burst with pride.

 

He also now had to deal with the paperwork suspending both Quinn and, surprisingly, Tina. The girls hadn’t stopped bickering back and forth the entire trip, even after Kurt thought he had calmed them down by threatening them all with a suspension but apparently Quinn thought she would get away with quietly goading the other girl into shouting at her but when Tina had taken the bait Quinn couldn’t help but raise her own voice. This kept on back and forth until it had gotten to the point that Kurt couldn’t pretend to not notice.

 

Quinn had walked past Tina, supposedly to get something from Santana who had been staying out of the whole thing surprisingly enough, and ‘accidentally’ knocked the side of Tina’s head with her elbow. Which no-one really believed, least of all him. Tina hadn’t retaliated physically but chose to spear Quinn verbally.

 

Kurt discovered, much to his amusement, that Tina Cohen-Chang had quite the sailor’s mouth on her when provoked. Separating the two had been an exercise in futility, much like spraying a pair of cats with water, and had heavily contributed to Kurt’s headache. Tina had ended up sitting up front with him whilst he’d placed Quinn next to Santana who swore to keep the other cheerleader contained, under the guise of not wanting to replace her on the squad if she got an ugly black eye from the ‘wonder-Asian’.

 

Thankfully Santana’s promise came through and she kept the blonde in her seat and away from everybody else including the wannabe prep boy she had attached herself to as of late and was apparently dating. This bit of information had been picked up from the constantly muttering Tina, who hadn’t been in the least bit happy that she’d gotten suspended because of ‘Quinn, stinkin’, Fabray.’

 

As much as he liked some of his students, including Tina, and Santana – to a point -, Kurt was thankful he was done with the trip and he wouldn’t have to do another one for a year. He was tired and drained and just wanted to sit down with a warm cup of tea and kiss his boyfriend until he forgot everything but Blaine. Well, that wasn’t really all he wanted but that was what he was going to have to settle for because said boyfriend was under-age and he was still resolving never to push Blaine into something he wasn’t ready for.

 

God, how did Blaine put up with this every day?

 

He really would have to ask him because all the nattering and bickering was enough to drive him ‘round the bend, he couldn’t imagine what it was like to be caught up in the drama of it all. Kurt got the feeling that Blaine didn’t care much for the gossip and backstabbing and even though he never said much about it all to Kurt, he knew there was times where it all got to Blaine, especially when it seemed to be that Quinn was always heading the charge.

 

Rubbing a thumb over the edge of his eyebrow, he made his way to Rachel’s office, prepared to have to explain why he had suspended the two girls, when Tina’s voice called out to him. “Mr Hummel?”

 

He turned and waited for her to catch up to him. “Yes?”

 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… But… I can’t stand what he’s done and… Quinn? God. It’s just all so wrong and he’s not here to defend himself even though he doesn’t really feel like he has to and…” She paused, noting the confused look on the teacher’s face. “I’m not making any sense am I?”

 

 

Kurt shook his head and, at his answer, Tina took a deep breath and started again.

 

“Quinn was talking about Blaine and completely spouting crap that isn’t even true and Sebastian, that giant asshat, just sat there and said nothing. Didn’t even tell her to stop, which is completely a Sebastian thing to do but just… How?” Without skipping a beat or waiting for Kurt’s response Tina launched right back in to her rant. “Anyway, I lost my temper and I shouldn’t have but I’d do it all over again for Blaine but I’m sorry about the trouble it caused you and I just wanted you to know I understand why you did it and I’m not mad.”

 

Her smile stayed in place on her face, eyes crinkling with mirth, and it took Kurt a minute to figure out what Tina had been blathering on about but he, eventually, got it.

 

“It’s okay, Tina, I can understand why you went after Quinn like that but, next time, just do it someplace where teacher’s aren’t, okay?” He peered down into Tina’s eyes, trying to convey without words what he was trying to say.

 

“Oh.” It took her a minute as well but she nodded her understanding. “Okay! Seeya Mr Hummel.” With a little wave and a wrinkle of her nose, Tina ran off back toward the entrance doors of the school.

 

Kurt shook his head with a tired laugh when he reached Rachel’s office but his amusement was quickly replaced with a burning need to just get home and do nothing for the foreseeable future.


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys and girls. This is the last chapter that has been pre-written in its entirety! All the other chapters are just outlined so updates may be more sporadic but I WILL try at least one a week! (I just can't guarantee a day :() Buuttt... Yay, Kurt's back! Enjoy :) x

Dinner was rather strained with neither of the Anderson brother’s willing to concede and agree that the other had made valid points in their own arguments. Blaine had the feeling that this was all going to become a very large issue between the two because Cooper was clearly upset with him, the tense set of his jaw and the low shimmer of his older brother’s eyes were a clear indication of this.

 

Cooper understood, with perfect clarity, what Blaine was trying to say but his headstrong traits ran rampant and he didn’t want to listen to what Blaine’s reasons were, most of that money could be invested and a little bit used each month for living expenses. If they put the bulk of it away then it would go a considerable way to ease some of Blaine’s future worries.  As it stood, it was a solid offer and Cooper couldn’t find any real reason to refuse it, pride could be swallowed for that kind of money, a lot of things could be overlooked for that kind of money.

 

Blaine was just being stubborn and, in Cooper’s eyes, plain childish about the whole situation. It was almost as if Blaine was hoping that Sebastian would come to his senses, fall in love with Blaine and the baby and marry them so they could live happily ever after. Cooper had seen, first hand, how his own father treated both his sons and had given up relying on the hope that others would take care of their own responsibilities. If someone had presented Cooper, five years ago, with a view of what his life would be like in the future there would have been a very different reaction. He wasn’t proud of his younger years, he used to be an egotistical prick, but he had to change when he assumed care of Blaine. Cooper didn’t want Blaine to be hurt by holding on to the hope of a happily ever after family; it was better to take the money and never have to see Sebastian again. His littler brother’s heart would be safer that way.

  

Blaine knew his brother almost too well, he knew that Cooper panicked about money and being able to provide for them both and he knew how Cooper felt about families. He was forever telling Blaine that it was them against the world and Blaine knew he meant well by it but in situations like this he knew that Cooper’s opinion was being coloured by his feelings for their parents and Blaine couldn’t risk making a biased decision here.  He wasn’t hoping for Sebastian back in his life, he wouldn’t say no to an apology but he didn’t want a relationship with him again. In fact if Sebastian did come up with that solution Blaine had a feeling he would probably lash out at him… and he doubted Kurt’s reaction would be any friendlier.

 

Blaine was hit by another wave of melancholy, if Kurt was the dad they wouldn’t be having any of this at all, Blaine knew he wouldn’t run, wouldn’t try to buy him off or ignore him and he was certain that Kurt wouldn’t run off with a bitchy blonde at the first sign of trouble. He just wanted to see Kurt now; he needed to be close to him.

 

Idly picking at the remains of his dinner, Blaine jumped when his phone began to vibrate against his hip. He swiped the lock screen and held it up to his ear, softly greeting the caller and smiling when he heard a melodic “Hello gorgeous!”

 

Blaine picked up the plate with his free hand and walked into the kitchen, listening to Kurt tell him what time they should meet tonight. After they had said their goodbyes Blaine sent a quick text to Tina asking for her help in, yet another, cover up – without giving her any real details – He told her they would talk about the trip and why the cover-up was needed tomorrow at lunch. After putting the dishes that were on the side into the dishwasher, Blaine walked back in to the dining room to fill Cooper in on the lie about where he was going.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kurt arrived a good twenty minutes before Blaine did, unable to stay away any longer; he just needed to see Blaine, to feel him again. His headache was gone, vanquished with the help of Tylenol, a warm cup of lemon tea and the lack of noisy teenagers. Now all he needed was to see Blaine and he would be a very happy camper. Kurt was pacing around the grass in the park, branching out in ever widening circles in his impatience.

 

Blaine watched Kurt walking around for a few minutes, content just to look at him following an invisible trail, his head down and his dark grey coat fitting so deliciously around his hips. Blaine loved that coat, it was probably as expensive as his house, if not more, and the fabric was soft and always smelt of Kurt’s cologne. It was very rare that Blaine saw Kurt without that coat and he often wondered if it was something that he brought back from New York when he moved. Blaine hoped to eventually know all these little things about Kurt, he wanted to know what Kurt was like when he was his age and why he had a pale scar just above his collarbone on his right side. Kurt hadn’t detected Blaine’s presence just yet and he could hear him humming a tune whilst he waited.

 

Kurt made another, larger, circuit through the benches surrounding their favourite part of the park, his mind completely blank, the final fuzziness in his ears from the bus trip was finally ebbing away and he had an old Hey Monday song replacing the emptiness of his thoughts. The fatigue from the entire trip was beginning to wear on him and he realised he would have to tell Blaine of his Christmas plans to him and he really wasn’t looking forward to it but Dave was expecting him, like he had been every year since his first daughter had been born. Kurt sighed, lifting his head up to look at the starless night sky, and caught a glimpse of Blaine watching him.

 

He was leaning against a tall street lamp, his head tipped to the side, eyes trained on Kurt’s form and a small smile playing on his features. God, he loved Blaine’s smile. It never failed to cause a mirrored smile to form on Kurt’s face, making him weak in the knees and ready to do anything in his power to keep that expression painted on his boyfriend. Crossing the gap between them, Kurt swept Blaine into his arms, his mouth covering the teens in greeting before Blaine could even react. Blaine lifted himself onto his toes and curled his arms around Kurt’s neck and shoulders whilst Kurt held Blaine’s body close against his own, swallowing the boy’s soft whimpers.

 

Kurt smelled so good. Lemon, almond and cologne and just him.

 

Blaine smelled like heaven. Cinnamon, vanilla and home and just him.

 

Kurt broke off the kiss to bury his head against Blaine’s neck, pushing aside his coat and inhaling his scent deeply.  “God, I missed you so much.”

 

“I missed you too, a lot.” Blaine slid his hands down the collar of Kurt’s coat, desperate to feel his skin. He had missed him, missed being held by him, missed knowing he was just a quick walk across town if he needed him, he even missed walking past his classroom at school and seeing him teaching. A soft sob escaped from his throat and he whispered, against Kurt’s cheek, “Oh, Kurt, I missed you.”

 

“Hey, hey. What’s all this?” Kurt lifted his head at the sound of Blaine’s confession to find tears pooling in his eyes. “Sweetheart, you knew I was coming back. Shh, don’t cry.”

 

Blaine nodded again, a wavering smile breaking out over his face, “I haven’t cried much the past couple of days…”

 

“Oh I see how it is, saving it up for me. Well, I’m here now, I’ve got you and I’m not letting you go.”

 

His fierce declaration unfurled the knot that had been sat in Blaine’s stomach since Kurt had left and he let go of the rigid hold he had kept on his emotions. Laughing and crying at the same time he wrapped his arms back around Kurt, his head pillowing on his collarbone and he pressed a kiss to his exposed neck, once, twice and nipping him on the third and he was rewarded by a low growl. Kurt worked his hand inside Blaine’s coat and under his cotton t-shirt, warming at the feel of his skin. He pulled away just slightly and took Blaine’s hand, leading him over to a bench hidden by a few willow trees, murmuring softly in the crisp night air, revelling of the feel of Blaine’s hand in his.

 

Once they were settled, Kurt reluctantly brought up the subject of Christmas.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Blaine was quite proud of himself for not getting too emotional when Kurt had told him about his long-standing Christmas plans and for not getting angry either. Truth be told, he was more hurt than anything else. He had been hoping that they would be able to sneak away to Northwood, a town about an hour or two away from Lima, for the day so they could be together without fear of someone they know seeing them, like a real couple without all the baggage they’d been carrying around. Blaine hadn’t cried whilst they talked about it, nor as Kurt walked him home but once he was inside the safety of his bedroom with his tattered old teddy bear, Blaine let his tears fall. It wasn’t fair that they had to hide just because some people thought what they had was wrong. Blaine knew he was becoming far to dependant on his budding relationship with Kurt but he just couldn’t help it at the moment and a part of him was afraid… Afraid that maybe Kurt didn’t…

 

_Nope, don’t go there Blaine._ Just because Kurt hadn’t said anything that hinted towards possibly falling for Blaine didn’t mean that he doesn’t care. Kurt deserved, and had earned, Blaine’s trust.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The next day Blaine fought back a sniff and the tears that were teetering on the edge of spilling down his face as he listened to Tina gush on about the English trip. They were sat in a small, family run, café about ten minutes away from Tina’s house. Blaine hadn’t wanted to go anywhere that he might see someone from school at so that had ruled out the Lima Bean and Cooper was still at home so he definitely wanted to get out of the house. Blaine was skipping school, once more, today and since Tina had, surprisingly, gotten herself suspended so the two had arranged to meet to catch up during the day rather than having a lengthy phone call later that evening.

 

The café Tina had suggested meant they were surrounded by senior citizens with hearing impairments, body ailments and all sorts of other problems that were far more important than the petty twists and turns of another day in the lives of high school students. Blaine’s eyes swept over the tables around them, his gaze settling on an elderly couple, their hands entwined over the table top, they looked so sweet, and their wedding rings almost sparkling in the December sunshine. He stared at them for a few minutes, watching with care in his eyes as the old man reached out to cup his wife’s face, his fingertips dancing over her aged lips as she laughed and kissed them away.

 

_Oh wow. I want that, Baby. I want that for both of us. Some-one to love me when I’m old and wrinkled. Some-one you look up to._

 

Tina watched as Blaine’s eyes softened and turned her head to follow his line of sight to see what had caused that expression. All she saw was an old couple sitting together, the wife wiping the man’s mouth as he gently pushed her hands away. Something else had to be on Blaine’s mind, Tina could sense it, and her curiosity got the better of her.

 

“Okay, Blaine, out with it. What’s going on?”

 

It took the boy a minute to come back to himself and he blinked in wide-eyed confusion at his best friend. “Hm?”

 

“You’ve been away with the fairies for the past couple of days.” The brunette leant back in her seat, pushing away her plated. “And I want to know why.”

 

“T, you haven’t been here the last couple of days. There’s nothing on my mind.” Blaine waved his hand, trying to convince her there was nothing wrong.

 

“Okay, because it’s completely normal to cry over elderly people eating their lunch. Dish, Blainey-Days.” Tina stared Blaine down, not allowing Blaine to turn away.

 

Blaine exhaled loudly, knowing that Tina wouldn’t rest until she had the full story. He leant forward until there were only a few inches between them, separated only by the table, and stared into Tina’s eyes. Tina swallowed nosily, slightly scared by the look in Blaine’s eyes, waiting for something absolutely horrible to come spilling from her friend.

 

“You need to promise to not breathe a word to anyone. Ever.” Blaine had a look on his face that Tina had never seen on the usually happy boy. A look of determination and stubbornness that Tina couldn’t find words to describe. Whatever the mixed expression was it foretold something serious.

 

“No one. I swear.” He paused for a second and then whispered out, “Not even Sam?”

 

“Tina! Not Sam. No one.” Blaine’s jaw clenched and his lips thin, all traces of softness gone. “Promise me.”

 

“Okay. Okay.” She grinned sheepishly, hoping to lighten the mood a little bit. “I can pinkie swear?”

 

Despite the seriousness of her expression, Blaine smiled. “You are such a goof.” Sobering instantly, he continued. “Okay, so you promise?”

 

“Cross my heart and all that.” Tina made the criss-cross motion over her heart, a crooked grin wavering on her features.

 

Inhaling deeply Blaine said softly, “I’ve met someone.”

 

Tina squealed a bit then sobered her expression when Blaine didn’t break out in accompanying laughter. “This is a good thing, right?”

 

Blaine was nodding his head. “It’s really good, the best. But… He’s older.” He paused and waited, gauging Tina’s reaction.

 

“College? Go Blaine! Does he know about the baby?” Tina sipped her water, waiting on Blaine’s answer.

 

“He does, yes. But… Not college.” Blaine looked down at the fries left on his plate. “He’s graduated, he has his masters too.”

 

Tina nearly dropped her drink. “How old is he?”

 

And that’s when the look- that ‘oh-my-god-I’m-so-in-love’ look- bloomed across the tanned features of her best friend, shocking Tina completely.

 

“B?”

 

“He’s… He’s so fantastic Tina. He’s sweet, kind and he’s known about Baby since the beginning and he’s been _so_ supportive. But…” He paused, trying to gather his scattered thoughts. “It’s like it doesn’t matter, he doesn’t treat me any differently, he’s just fiercely over-protective.”

 

“Wow. Just. Wow.” The laughter was back. “So details? C’mon, I’m your best friend. Paint me a picture.”

 

Blaine hesitated, knowing somehow if she described any part of Kurt, other than his personality, they’d be busted, and the last thing he wanted was for them to get caught. So he kept Kurt’s looks out of the description he gave Tina and extracted yet another promise from her about keeping her mouth shut before spilling, almost, everything to his best friend.


	21. Chapter Twenty One

Kurt stared down at the small box in his hand, trying to sift through his thoughts to make a finalised decision. He had spent the better part of the last week trying to find a perfect gift for Blaine and had found absolutely nothing that he was happy presenting to his young boyfriend. He’d almost given up and was looking at different gift cards when he had been searching through a trunk in his attic for a pair of snow boots and found an old jewelry box of his mothers. The irony of Kurt’s life was not lost on him, the fact that everything he had been looking for was right under his nose. Kurt smiled to himself, yes, the man of his drams was there all the time… Of course he was in diaper and dribbled over himself on a regular basis but he was there.

 

Sifting through the jewelry, he almost gave up on finding what he was looking for when his finger snagged on the end of a necklace. He fished it out and smiled when he remembered it always hanging around his mother’s neck when he was very young. It was a simple silver chain with an eternity ring looped through it. He remembered when he was older, his dad explaining why he gave Kurt’s mother that ring.

 

_“So you don’t want to marry me?”_

_“I don’t believe you, there’s a difference.”_

_“Look, you’re going on holiday with your parents. You’re back in five days, right? If I have a ring by the time you get back. Will you marry me?”_

_“Yes.”_

And, of course, being a Hummel. Burt had one-upped himself and brought Kurt’s mother an eternity engagement ring, to prove he would love her for as long as he lived. It was perfect.

 

Or at least Kurt had thought so a week prior when he had taken to get it cleaned but now he wasn’t completely certain. Was it too much? Would Blaine even like it? What if he didn’t wear it, Kurt’s confidence would take a severe beating. Kurt was drowning in his own doubts and he had left it too late to get Blaine a backup gift in case he didn’t like it, he had nothing else to offer Blaine besides his own, admittedly sentimental, gift and now he wasn’t even sure about that. Not to mention, it was probably far too early in their relationship for something like an eternity ring.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Blaine eyed the packages he had piled on it bed. He had thought, when the idea first popped into his head, that his gift was perfect for Kurt. He probably already had everything he wanted. Blaine pouted a bit at the mess of wrapping around his room and then shrugged. There was no way he was going to be able to change anything now. The book had been sheer luck but the music was a stroke of genius… At least he’d thought so. Now… Too late!

 

He grabbed the brightly wrapped packages and headed out the front door.

 

 

* * *

 

 

For once Blaine was early, his anticipation making him walk faster. He was huddled under a blanket, his back resting against a storage shed, his eyes scanning the area around him. The butterflies were back in full force, zinging back and forth in his stomach making his insides sing. Blaine had yet to tell Kurt that he had, somewhat, confided in Tina. However, despite the girl’s best effort, Blaine hadn’t told her anymore that just repeating what he had told her the first day in the café. He refused to betray Kurt’s trust like that, he knew Kurt was risking much more by being with him than Blaine was and Blaine just wasn’t going to do anything that would possibly jeopardise Kurt or their relationship.

 

Kurt whistling a Christmas Carol altered Blaine of his immanent arrival and Blaine felt himself grinning, without a though, butterflies taking flight once more as he lifted his head, his smiling rivalling the sun for it’s brightness.

 

Kurt rounded the corner of the shaded pathway that lead to where they had agreed to meet, his eyes finding Blaine immediately. He was tucked up in a corner, looking straight into Kurt’s eyes, his own sparkling in the pale moonlight.

 

“Hi, you.”

 

“And hello to you too, gorgeous, have you been waiting long?” Kurt leaned against the shed, his hands tucked away into his coat pockets.

 

“Not long at all.” Blaine held up one edge of the blanket, motioning Kurt to come closer with his other hand. “Come cuddle.”

 

Kurt knelt down and pulled Blaine into his embrace, his nose bumping against Blaine’s temple. “Come here.”

 

Blaine went willingly into his arms. Their mouths met, Blaine’s opening almost automatically at the first touch of Kurt’s tongue against the seam of his mouth, connecting in the only way they allowed themselves. Kurt gathered Blaine closer, his hands snaking up under Blaine’s untucked shirt, splaying his hands across the middle of his boyfriend’s back. “God, Blaine, I love the way you feel.”

 

Blaine rested his forehead against Kurt’s lips as he arched backward into Kurt’s hands, trying to get as much as his skin covered as possible. “Kurt…”

 

He abruptly pulled away from Blaine, putting a little bit of distance between their faces, his eyes trained on Blaine’s contented smile. “You are gorgeous, Blaine.” He breathed, his voice almost husky with need, “You make me feel things I haven’t for a long time. Gosh, sweetheart, you make me want… Everything.”

 

Blaine’s vision clouded over with unshed tears, this was the first time that Kurt had spoken of more than just the ‘now’. He forced the tears back, smiling at Kurt. “Me too. I feel… Too.” He whispered.

 

“Yeah. Butterflies, right?” His returning smile was crooked, but very real.

 

“Butterflies.” Blaine agreed before reaching down beside him, Blaine lifted the packages and shyly presented them to his boyfriend. “Merry Christmas, Kurt.”

 

“Oh Blaine.” Dipping into the inside pocket of his coat, Kurt grabbed the small box. Weighing it in his hand, he held back for a moment, and then drew in a deep breath. “Happy Christmas sweetheart.”

 

Blaine looked down at the small box, nervously, hesitating just long enough for Kurt to notice and nudge his hand forward, saying, “Go on, and take it.”

 

With a sudden eagerness Blaine took the box from Kurt and pulled off the silver wrapping. There, nestled in black velvet, was a beautiful silver chain and a silver ring threaded through. It was obviously an older ring. An amber stone adorned the centre on the band and was surrounded by four, small, round diamonds. “Oh, Kurt. It’s beautiful.”

 

“It was… It was my mom’s engagement ring. When she got sick, she lost a lot of weight so she wore it ‘round her neck instead but… I can’t remember a time when she wasn’t wearing it.” Kurt’s voice had dropped but was still soft with the supressed emotions that Blaine had grown used to hearing in his tones although, tonight, they had taken on different meanings in light of the gift he had given him.

 

Blaine’s eyes were shining with tears, once more, when he looked up at Kurt. “You’re giving it to me? It’s… Oh, it’s precious to you. I shouldn’t have this.”

 

His warm hand cupped Blaine’s cheek, his thumb brushing gently over his parted lips.

 

“Yes. It is… But so are you.”

 

Blaine whimpered quietly before leaning forward to capture Kurt’s lips with his. “Your turn now.”

 

Kurt smiled down at his young boyfriend before carefully unwrapping the present he had been handed. He silently started down at the book in front of him. Blaine whispered in the night air, breaking the silence. “I figured you probably had something like this, English teacher and everything, but it’s a second edition. I think it said it was printed it 1890.” Blaine’s voice trailed off when Kurt wrapped him tightly in his arms, unable to say anything other than a muffled, “thank you.”

His warm hand cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing gently over her lips. “Hush, baby. Yeah, it’s. . . precious, but so are you, love. So are you.”

 

“There’s more, you know,” he added after a moment, pointing to the smaller package still nestled in the folds of the blanket.

 

“More? Sweetheart, this is too much…” Kurt was shaking his head at him, but Blaine just thumped him playfully on his chest.

 

“Shh. After everything you’ve done for me. I’d give you more, if I could.” He smiled again. “Now, open. Please.”

 

Still shaking his head at Blaine’s antics, he picked up the second package and ripped the paper.

 

“Oh my god, Blaine! Where did you find this? Oh baby.”

 

Kurt laughed, with joy, pulling Blaine back in to his arms and raining kisses across his face as Blaine laughed along with him.

 

“So you like it?” He asked him, between gusts of laughter and kisses.

 

“God, Blaine. I love it. I love _you._ ”

 

They both visibly freeze at his declaration, staring at each other, Blaine’s eyes widening before he spoke. “Do you… Mean that?”

 

Kurt brushed Blaine’s hair behind his ears, searching his eyes for fear or panic. Once he had found none he nodded, once.

 

“For a while now.”

 

He waited another moment, wondering what Blaine was thinking, when his hand reached out to brush over Kurt’s cheek.

 

Blaine’s voice was almost a whisper. “Good. ‘Cause I don’t want to feel this way alone.”

 

“Blaine?”

 

Blaine was shaking his head, both hands on Kurt’s face now. Kurt brought his own hands up to cover Blaine’s on his face when Blaine spoke again.

 

“I feel it… I’m just not sure I can say it, just yet.”

 

Kurt slid his hands around Blaine, fisting the boys clothes with one hand. “That’s okay. I can wait… For you, I’ll wait.”

 

They both knew that he meant more than just the three little words.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Every mile that Kurt put between himself and Blaine just made him feel worse. Compounding that was just how wrong it felt being apart over Christmas. He couldn’t comprehend how it was even possible. This time last year he knew very little about Blaine, just that he was adorable as hell.

 

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to spend the holidays with Dave and his family, he just didn’t want to put on a happy face and pretend his heart wasn’t back in Lima resting in the hands of a seventreen year old boy. Kurt wanted to be at home, sneaking whatever moments he could, just to be near Blaine. He was two exits away from his destination when his phone lit up with a new call. He flicked his hands free set on before answered the phone. He was greeted with a giggling little girls voice.

 

“Unca Kur? Are you bringin’ Sanna with you?”

 

Kurt found himself laughing, realising that being around Dave’s girls would be good for him. “No, sweetpea, Santa comes later. Have you been a good girl?”

 

She giggled again. “Ahuh. You coming?”

 

“I’ll be there soon.”

 

Katy shrieked into the phone. “Daaaadddddyyyy! Almost here!”

 

“Okay, K, can you put Daddy on the phone?” Kurt found himself laughing again, despite the possibility he could now be deaf.

 

There was a long pause and finally Dave’s laughing voice sounded in his ears. “Hey bud.”

 

“Hiya, next time don’t let your spawn burst my eardrums.” He was grinning as he said it but Kurt was deadly serious.

 

“Mmhm. Of course. So how soon will you be here?”

 

“Half an hour, maybe.”

 

 

Dave laughed again. “See you then.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

True to his word, Kurt pulled into the house’s driveway just under thirty minutes late and found the lights on the lawn glowing green and red and the sound of high pitched, girlish, laughing echoing in the darkening night. Two little faces flashed into view beneath twinkling fairy lights and in the middle of curtains being pushed aside and Kurt was able to clearly hear their squeals and the pattering of feet as he approached the front door. One of the girls flung open the door and both of them were bounce in the doorway, calling out his name, before Kurt had even reached the bottom step.

 

Kurt leant down and swept them both up in his arms, twirling them as best he could, laughing at their reactions.

 

Katy, older than her sister Diana by a mere eleven months, whispered loudly in his ear. “Unca Kurt, we get perprise!”

 

Little Di wrapped her arms around Kurt’s neck and placed a sloppy, wet, kiss on his cheek. “Kur. Bestest?”

 

Kissing her quickly, Kurt nodded his agreement and winked at the little girl and another sloppy kiss greeted his answer.

 

“Love oo.”

 

“Oh, Lady Di, I love you too.” Carrying both girls into the living room, Kurt greeted their parents. Kurt had known Dave since Middle School and despite their tempestuous friendship once they had left Lima for College they had become thick as thieves, even with the introduction of Liam in Dave’s journalism class. Liam was originally from England and for a short period when the three of them were eighteen he had gone back to England and Dave had been devested. It was then that Kurt and Dave developed a relationship, through compatible lonliness and, on Dave’s side, a need for comfort. It hadn’t been love, it hadn’t taken their breaths away and it certainly wasn’t what either man had in their lives right now.

 

Neither of them suffered a broken heart when their relationship slowly ended and Liam had returned to the States and eventually following Dave when Dave moved back to Ohio once he finished with College.

 

Kurt moved on to a series of relationships with guys he either loved too much or not enough but as Dave pointed out repeatedly, none of them were Kurt’s equal, his other half.  Liam and Dave had gotten married whilst they still lived in New York and had been over the moon when Ohio announced they recognised same-sex marriage as of five years ago and they adopted Katy almost a year after moving, Diana Rose following after her own parents died in a car accident. Liam now worked from home, he did some kooky tarot readings and some writing for a local paper’s advice column and Dave worked for the town’s police force as a deputy officer.

 

Kurt leant forward and gave Dave a quick hug after dropping the girls to the floor.

 

“Hey, Hummel.”

 

“David. Liam, how’re you doing?” Kurt nodded over to Liam, standing in the doorway watching his two girls.

 

“Well, you?” Bypassing Kurt’s extended hand, Liam pulled him into his embrace, pounded him once on the back, and let him go just as suddenly.

 

Before Kurt could even answer both girls came careening back into the living room, giggling and shrieking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I suck at this updating malarkey! Ah well! Next update shooouuuld be next Saturday as Sunday I'm off to see The Lion King in London! Woohoo :) 
> 
>  
> 
> *Pssst, next chapter is one of my faves... Phone sex!*


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

For once Tina's father didn't object and refuse her spending Christmas Eve with Cooper and Blaine. She had been slipping out, with her mother's help, for the past two years and it felt strange to have walked out the front door, waving to her father on the way, to spend the night at the Anderson's. The two teenagers were now curled up on the couch, watching Christmas films one after the other, whilst eating their way through bags of popcorn, broken candy canes and Cooper's failed attempt at gingerbread men.

 

Blaine leant forward, to grab another piece of candy cane from the bowl and his necklace slipped out of the pale blue t-shirt, he had grown accustomed to sleeping in, and caught Tina's eye.

 

"Wow, Blaine. That's a gorgeous necklace." Tina's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Is it from  _him?_ "

 

Blaine's hand covered the ring and tucked it back under his shirt, a light blush blooming on his cheeks as he smiled. "It's my Christmas present."

 

Tina smiled back at her, clearly happy, friend as she watched Blaine wordlessly trail his fingers down where the chain lay under his t-shirt.

 

"So… It's serious. Huh?"

 

"Yeah." Blaine felt those butterflies take wing again and he could barely speak for the emotions that were clogging his throat. "Oh, T…I really do love him."

 

Tina stared, wide eyed, at him. "You…you love him?"

 

* * *

 

 

It was just after midnight and it had taken numerous threats about Santa not coming to their house and a few 'this is the last one' stories told the three adults had finally managed to get the two, excitable, girls to sleep. Dave was humming to himself whilst clearing away the mess the two little girls, and two much bigger boys who should have known better, had made. Kurt had gone outside to help Liam bring in the piles, and piles, of presents they had been hiding in the garage for the past few months when something caught his eye. He stopped what he was doing and smiled to himself.

 

A knowing twinkle entered his eye and he laughed, wondering how long he would be able to keep this to himself before springing the news on his old friend.  _Kurt Hummel, you sly dog._

 

* * *

 

 

Blaine looked up at the clock, resting above the mantelpiece, and frowned a bit. Tina had fallen asleep on the couch and it had proved quite difficult to move the girl so Cooper had gotten out a few blankets and pillows and made a bed around the sleeping teen rather than disturbing her. It was now just past midnight and Blaine was really hoping Kurt would keep his promise and call Blaine so they could talk on Christmas Day. Blaine missed Kurt more than ever, since they had exchanged their gifts, like a piece of him was missing and he hadn't realised it until now.

 

It was, stupidly, hard being apart from him. Unable to touch each other, unable to be open about their relationship. Blaine was beginning to feel more isolated than he ever had before, even at his parents' home, he felt like he was drifting farther and farther away from any semblance of support he had been offered. Blaine had never imagined being this dependant on some-one would hurt so much when they weren't close. He hugged his tattered old teddy, Charles, to his chest whilst fighting tears. He didn't even have a picture of Kurt, wasn't allowed one, the closest he had was Kurt's official picture in the yearbook from the end of last year after he had joined the faculty. It wasn't enough, Blaine wanted him here with him, celebrating Christmas. With his head buried on his pillow, Blaine stared out into the dark night, making a Christmas wish.

 

It was sometime after one thirty in the morning that Kurt finally got himself settled into the guestroom. His suitcase, still packed, leant against the dresser and his coat flung over the comfy armchair that Dave insisted moved with them but Liam wouldn't allow in the living room because it didn't match their suite. Kurt stopped at the window, looking out at the stars, and, despite the hour, he reached for his phone. If he knew Blaine, and he was hopeful that he did by now, he would be waiting for Kurt to call.

 

With the phone held between his ear and shoulder, Kurt sat down on the edge of the bed and began to unlace his boots. The phone continued to ring and just before he thought it would switch over to Blaine's voice-mail a very sleepy voice sounded through.

 

"Hi sweetheart."

 

"Hey." He could hear the sleepy pout in Blaine's voice and he shook his head.

 

"Sorry I couldn't call sooner, but we've only just settled in for the night." He paused, then before Blaine could say anything, he blurted out, "I miss you, Blaine."

 

"Kurrrrt. I miss you too." Blaine rolled over onto his back, letting Charles fall to the floor, his free hand drifted across his collarbone to his necklace and he idly played with the chain once more.

 

They both interrupted the silence at the same time, their words eerily matching.

 

"I wish…"

 

"If wishes…"

 

Blaine's sigh echoed Kurt's, although he recovered quicker, his voice reaching out to his boyfriend across the miles. "Sweetheart, tell me what you'd wish for."

 

"I wish you were here instead of there."

 

Blaine's soft exhale caught Kurt's heart and he could almost picture Blaine before him. He eased back onto the bed and rested against the wooden headboard, bending one of his knees up and stretching the other leg out straight, trying to imagine Blaine beside him.

 

"What would your wish be?" He settled himself more comfortably, plumping the pillows beneath his head.

 

Kurt laughed and Blaine let the sound wash over him. "Oh, Blaine, you know… Wishes, they…"

 

"Are you afraid to tell me?" He teased trying to coax Kurt into admitting, again, that he missed him too.

 

Kurt's voice dropped, the huskiness sending shiver down Blaine's spine. "Baby, I'd wish for you… Here with me, all warm and wet and…" Kurt stopped, knowing that finishing his sentence would only lead to a long, and very unfulfilled, night.

 

"And?"

 

Blaine's, suddenly sultry, voice had him scrambling for a few seconds, until his mind caught up with him and he grinned.  _Oh, Blaine… You are playing with fire, sweetheart._

 

"Mmm…" Kurt pretended to think about what he wished for, for a few seconds, stretching out the anticipation. "Let's see… What else would I wish for." Kurt shifted a bit, getting more comfortable on the bed, the image of Blaine becoming more clear in his mind.

 

"Tell me." Blaine whispered, the sound shooting straight to Kurt's cock. "Please…"

 

"You… In my t-shirt and maybe some tight briefs again."

 

Kurt's grin morphed into a slight leer but the expression soon fell off his face when Blaine whispered back. "How about your t-shirt and some Christmas red briefs?"

 

His groaned response went through Blaine and, emboldened by it, Blaine kept up his assault to Kurt's senses. "You like the red? Well, uhm, that's what I've got on now… The t-shirt I stole from you and…"

 

"Oh, hell, Blaine." Almost of it's own volition Kurt's hand snaked down to his waist band and, before he even realised it, he had popped open the buttons on his jeans. He cleared his throat, barely able to speak. "Red is perfect, sweetheart."

 

"So…" Blaine hesitated, his breath sounding a bit strained to Kurt's ear, then whispered. "What would you do?"

 

Kurt was quiet for so long that Blaine thought he might have fallen asleep but then, suddenly, he said. "Blaine, just how far do you want to take this right now?"

 

"What do you mean?" Blaine was a little confused, not sure what he was asking.

 

His laugh was high, once more, melodic and breathy. "Baby, I'm sitting here with my cock out and if you aren't ready for this, we need to stop now."

 

"Oh. Oh, Kurt…" Blaine waited a second, trying to decide if he was ready for what Kurt's was suggesting, and when all his voice did was set off his butterflies, Blaine knew he didn't want Kurt to ever stop. "No, please, Kurt… Tell me?"

 

"Oh, sweetheart, if only you knew what you do to me." Kurt spoke, grinning to himself as he pictured how hopeful and shy Blaine's expression would be right now. "Blaine, do something for me?

 

"Anything." It slipped out of Blaine's mouth before he could even censor it and his breathing got heavier.

 

"Do you still have that hands free kit?" Putting his own thought into action, Kurt fiddled with his phone and headphone's before lying the phone on the bed next to him.

 

"The Bluetooth one? Yeah… Why?" Blaine moved around a bit, rolling over to dig in his bedside drawers for it before it dawned on him what Kurt was suggesting. "Oh, oh yes. Give me a second."

 

Kurt grinned, his eyes focused on a vision of Blaine, spread out and waiting for him. There was a few more seconds of rustling before Blaine's voice sounded in his head, his breathing a little heavier than before.

 

"Okay." Blaine laughed, softly, confiding, "I've never done this before… Just so you know."

 

"Are you sure about this, Blaine?" Kurt wanted to kick himself for offering Blaine a chance to say no but he wasn't willing to coerce his young boyfriend into doing anything he wasn't sure about but there was no way Blaine was going to back down now.

 

"…I already took my pants off."

 

"Fuck, Blaine." Kurt paused, trying to figure out a way to make Blaine more comfortable, when his breathy voice started once more.

 

"Are you comfy? Are you still wearing all your clothes?"

 

Blaine shocked him a bit but Kurt was way ahead of him.

 

"Took them off while I was waiting for you. I'm in nothing but a sheet, baby and I'm harder than a rock right now. Blaine, put your hands under the t-shirt." Blaine was quiet, the only sound was his hitching breaths, so Kurt whispered. "Blaine, I need you to talk to me… Tell me what you're doing."

 

"Okaay… I'm not too sure, but, um. My hands are on my belly, under the shirt."

 

Kurt realised, then, that he would have to talk Blaine through all of this, which really wasn't such a bad thing.

 

"Alright now move your fingers up, use two of them to play with your nipple. Just roll it, honey."

 

Blaine gave a tiny whine in protest and Kurt started to speak again when Blaine's voice took over.

 

"Where do you… What else should I do?"

 

"Slip your other hand down, brush your fingertips against your curls for me." Kurt waited a few seconds before whispering. "Feel good, baby?"

 

Blaine's voice was sweet in his ear. "Yeah. Kurt…Are you?"

 

"Am I what?" Kurt stroked his cock, running his fingers up and down his hard length, "Have I got my fingers 'round my cock, wishing it was you? Yeah. I have, sweetheart."

 

His butterflies were in full flight, careening wildly within the confines of Blaine's belly and making his breath hitch and dip. Kurt's next, barely spoken, words pushed Blaine further. "Blaine… I want you to slide your fingers down your pussy, make them nice and wet for me."

 

Blaine whined out something incoherent but it made Kurt's cock twitch. His command coming out harsh, and soothing, at the same time. "Tell me how you feel, baby."

 

"So soft and warm… God, Kurt, it's really warm. Is it supposed to be this wet?"

 

His innocent question pushed Kurt over the edge and Blaine could hear the affectionate amusement in his voice. "Just for me, Blaine, only me."

 

"So this is your fault?"

 

"Oh, you're teasing now?"

 

"Maybe… God, Kurt. Is this what you feel when you used your mouth on me?"

 

Kurt's hand on his cock sped up, his words were broken up by harsh gaps, and Blaine knew Kurt was as affected as he was. "Ohh, yes. Blaine, slide your fingers in. That's it, baby. Use your other hand and find your clit. Just that tiny bump that I sucked on. Blaine, yes."

 

"That's… Oh. Kurt? Ohhh." Blaine swirled his fingers over his clit, his breathing no more than mewling gasps, "Kurt…"

 

"That's my boy. Just a little faster, come on." Kurt could barely speak, his words turning into grunts as he urged Blaine on, matching his boyfriend's hitching gasps.

 

"Oh…unh…huh."

 

"Just imagine my mouth on you again, baby, my tongue  _in_  you. Come for me." A soft, high pitched, whimper, hit his ears and Kurt grunted in satisfaction.

 

Blaine was practically panting now, his fingers circling furiously over that tiny nub of flesh, his body arching up and off of his bed. "What… You. Kurt, I need… I can't. Please!" Almost sobbing, Blaine begged Kurt to send him over the edge.

 

"Blaine, come with me. I'm so close, Blaine. I want you. Just a little faster, come on. God, I want to taste you again, feel you around me…" Kurt couldn't keep up his speech any longer, his own release reducing him to sounds and grunting. Their breathing hitched together and Kurt rumbled out Blaine's name from somewhere deep in his chest as Blaine whimpered, convulsed a little, and cried out Kurt's name in a strangled sob.

 

It was long minutes while their breathing returned to normal. Kurt finally opened his eyes, then let out a deep breath. "Baby? Blaine? Talk to me."

 

"Kurt?" Blaine laughed and then breathed out a question. "Should I…I'm shaking again. Is that…another?"

 

A purely masculine grin appeared across Kurt's features and he knew, for sure, if Blaine had been there to see it he would have blushed and pushed Kurt's shoulder with his own. Blaine thought he was just recovering when Kurt's light tone set off his butterflies again.

 

"Yes, sweetheart. That's what should happen.  _Every_  time.

 

"So… We just masturbated together?"

 

Kurt spluttered out a laugh. "Oh wow. You are… Yes, yes we did, sunshine."

 

Another laugh escaped Blaine. "So that's phone sex?" Blaine chucked again and then shocked the hell out of him by asking, "Can we do it again?"

 

Kurt groaned deeply, rasping out, "Whenever you're ready."

 

And Blaine smiled into his phone and asked sweetly, "How about right now?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on time, woo! I'll try and get another chapter up by next Saturday (but no promises!) As always, let me know how you're finding everything so far :)


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

Heeeeyyy, I made it! I have  _no_ idea when the next update will be! But you'll see other things from me popping up whilst I try and figure out the direction of this one! Thanks for reading :)

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Kurt woke up far too early for most normal human beings to find two little girls bouncing on his bed, their voices whispering softly to each other. One of the girls dropped down onto her knee’s before pressing her mouth to Kurt’s ear. “Unca Kurrr, are we quiet? Daddy says we havesta been quiet til it’s time to waked up.”

 

He rolled over, getting an armful of the little girl, Katy tumbling over his chest whilst Diana lay across his legs jostling around whenever Kurt moved. “We was quiet. Yeah?”

 

There was no way he could tell the two girls to go away and let him sleep, as much as he wanted to, but the house rules said no-one opened any presents until everyone was awake and out of bed and no doubt these two would have been waiting long enough. Kurt groaned internally before sitting up, almost knocking Katy off the bed. “Okay. I’m up. Go tell Daddy.”

 

Diana scrambled off the bed first, hitting the door and the sound barrier at the same time. “Daddy! Unca Kurr’s awaked!”

 

Katy sat up with Kurt, her little face just inches from his. “Unca Kurt… I got a present for you. Come see.” Katy tried tugging him from the bed, barely budging him.

 

“Go on, Kitty Cat, I’ll be right there.” Kurt watched her dropped off of the bed and scurry out the door, her fluffy slippers almost tripping her up as she practically bolted from his room, chasing after Diana.

 

Kurt rolled over onto his side and squinted at the bedside clock. It was barely six am and he’d gotten very little over two hours sleep. He had kept Blaine on the phone until just after four, when it became apparent that both of them were in danger of falling asleep. It had been one of the best conversations Kurt had ever had, phone sex aside, and he hadn’t wanted to end it. In amongst their goodbyes he had made a promise to Blaine that when the holidays were over they would figure out, together, a way that they could spend more than just a few stolen moments alone.

 

Diana’s shrieks echoed in the hallway as Liam scooped her into in arms after chasing her out from his and Dave’s bedroom. Passing by Kurt’s open door he leant in, with his littlest girl hanging off his shoulder, “I’m up, Kurt, time for you to haul ass!”

 

His daughter’s outraged giggled ratted him out. “Daddy, Pop say-ed a bad word. Get soap!”

 

Liam slapped her butt playfully, “I thought you were on my side.”

 

“Nope!” She wriggled, trying to get out of his arms, calling out, “Unca Kurr, Santa came!”

 

Katy passed by his door next, her long hair falling down her back and a grin across her face. “Come Kurt, come see what pressie’s we got.”

 

Grumbling half-heartedly and praying that he’d be able to get a nap at some point, Kurt finally got out of bed. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was almost eleven am when Blaine finally made his way downstairs only to find that Cooper was the only one awake, Tina still, almost, out cold comfortably on the couch.

 

“Happy Christmas, Blainey.” Cooper didn’t even look up from his coffee when Blaine entered the kitchen and, to be honest, it annoyed Blaine. They couldn’t even put aside their tension for Christmas.

 

“You too, Coop.” Blaine headed straight across the room for the fridge so he could grab some orange juice and maybe some cranberry too, he had just found his prize when Cooper’s voice sounded over his shoulder.

 

“Blaine… Have you thought any about the Smythe’s offer?”

 

Blaine slammed the refrigerator door shut before spinning ‘round to face his older brother.

 

“Really. Today? You want to talk about this today?”

 

“Why not? We need to talk about it sometime, B.” Cooper stared at his brother over the rim of his coffee cup, a determined look set on his face.

 

“But today… It’s Christmas, Coop. Peace on Earth. I think that translates to peace for the pregnant boy too.” Blaine leaned against the counter, unfazed by the steely expression on Cooper’s face.

 

“I think we should talk about this now. You’ve been avoiding me since the other day. Now is as good a time as any.”

 

Blaine was shaking his head. “No, Cooper. I’m not in the mood to talk about this and, besides, Tina’s still asleep in the other room.”

 

“Blaine, this needs to get sorted. What if this is their final offer and you end up with nothing?” Cooper refilled his mug, his jaw clenching as their argument escalated.

 

“This  _isn’t_  the time to talk about it. It’s Christmas and I just want to keep only happy thoughts.”  _And Sebastian and his crappy parents are not a happy thought._  “Can we please talk about this later?”

“You know something, Mom; this isn’t the time to talk about it. Its Christmas, and I’m trying to keep happy thoughts in my head.” Adding silently, and you really aren’t helping, coz Riley is so not a happy thought. “So can we please talk about this later?”

 

“I really want to talk about it now.” Placing the mug on the counter, Cooper turned to face his only brother, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

“A thousand times, no, not today. We can talk about it tomorrow. Nothing would be finalised today anyway, it’s a holiday.” Blaine tried facing off against his older brother, despite the clear height difference, his stance just as stubborn.

 

“We could at least be ready to accept first thing in the morning.”

 

“Fine. No. If you want an answer now, that’s it. I’m not accepting” Blaine put his half-finished glass of mixed juice down, unable to keep drinking because of the nerves tightening his stomach. “If you keep pushing, I’m going to keep saying no.”

 

“You know I can accept for you. I’m your guardian.” Cooper pushed himself away from the counter, reaching out for Blaine.

 

Blaine moved himself out of his older brother’s reach, edging toward the hallway. “If you do that, Cooper, I’ll leave. I’m not taking their money.”

 

“Do not threaten me, Blaine, you agreed that I would be your legal guardian which mean you’ll do as I tell you. If I think this is something we should accept then you  _will_  accept it.” Cooper closed the distance between them and held up his hands as if to grab Blaine’s upper arms, something their dad used to do a lot when they were younger to drive his point home.

 

Blaine grabbed both of Cooper’s hands to stop his forward motion.

 

“You really don’t want to do this, Coop. I asked you not to bring it up and you didn’t let it go. I can’t, and won’t, talk about this now. Stop. Pushing.”

 

Without another word Blaine headed up the stairs to his room fighting the tears of anger, and frustration, which were threatening.

 

Tina watched him go, sympathy flooding her features, but when Cooper emerged from the kitchen a few moments later, the girl feigned sleep.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Both Kurt and Liam managed to nap in the early afternoon, falling asleep in the lounge chairs, whilst the girls played with their dolls and read a few books with Dave quietly in front of the tree. For the most part Dave just watched the two of them, a small smile playing about his mouth. He could see something different in Kurt and what he saw was something that Kurt probably would like to share but damned if he was going to sit back and watch. Tilting his head, Dave continued his train of thought and with one last look at the girls he sped off to his bedroom.

 

When Kurt woke the girls were still playing quietly, Dave, and Liam were no-where to be found but Kurt had thought he’d heard his name being called. Shaking his head Kurt got up and wandered into the kitchen when he found Dave and Liam sat at the kitchen counter. He walked around the island and saw a deck of cards spread out before Liam.

 

“Time to catch up, Hummel.”

 

Kurt turned to Liam and nodded his consent before he thrust the set of cards into Kurt’s hands.

 

“Shuffle them.”

 

Kurt shuffled the cards as best he could and he chanced a glance up at the relaxed features of his best friend.

 

“Fancy telling me what I’m doing?”

 

Liam smiled and answered for Dave. “Let’s see what the cards say before the small talk. Hm? Cut the deck please.”

 

“Okay.” Kurt laid out three piles of cards, and then stacked them back up again. Once he was finished Liam took the deck from him and mumbled something under her breath before laying out seven cards. Dave spoke up.

 

“Sit down, Kurt. He’s not going to curse you or anything.”

 

“Okaay...”

 

Taking a look at the cards, Liam’s smile widened and he began speaking.

 

“So, Kurt, you’ve met some-one. There’s a lot of…” He pointed to the second card, the eight of swords, “Rough times, for him. There’s hard things that he’s dealing with. Nothing’s going very easily for him, is it?”

 

Kurt was shaking his head, murmuring something under his breath that neither Liam or Dave could hear. Liam tapped a long finger against the next card, a knowing glint in him eyes. “He has your heart. Hm? Oh…And you hold his.” When Kurt didn’t speak, to either confirm or deny, Liam continued to talk. He glanced back to the first card and blurted out the question before he thought to censor it. “Kurt… Is he pregnant?”

 

Without waiting for him to confirm that Liam nodded his head. “He is. Oh, Kurt…What are you going to do?”

 

Kurt got up from the counter, pacing the length of the kitchen, avoiding both men’s gaze. He wondered just how much he could confide in the couple and, he suddenly caved, he needed to talk to someone before he exploded. He leant his forearms on the counter and started talking, his eyes never leaving Dave’s.

 

“Yes, he’s pregnant but it’s not mine. We haven’t even had sex yet. The baby’s other dad ran with his tails between his legs as soon as he found out and he’s… Dave, you have to promise me something here.

 

Dave got up from the table at the same time Liam did, however Liam left the cards laid out and walked out of the kitchen and back to the living room with the girls knowing that the two friends needed time alone. Dave stood in front of Kurt, his hand clapped over Kurt’s shoulder. “Talk to me, Hummel. What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing’s wrong.” He laughed and then quickly sobered up. “It’s just nothing’s right either.” Kurt ran a hand through his hair, dislodging his style into an almost wold disarray. “I need you to promise me you won’t say a word Dave…”

 

“I’ll always keep quiet for you, Kurt.”  _Just like you did for me._

 

“He’s seventeen and one of my students.” Dave made no comment, merely waiting for Kurt to continue. “Always thought he was adorable but just never did anything. I knew I couldn’t. Then I found him and a cup of tea at the Lima Bean, just crying. He looked so lost. He’d just found out about the baby, hadn’t even told the father. Then when he did, the bastard flipped out on him, practically assaulted my boy then dumped him. His brother’s almost never home, I think the responsibilities messed with him too much. His parents couldn’t give a monkey’s what he does. He told them at Thanksgiving he was pregnant and they kicked him out, let him walk around with nowhere to go. He called me, he’d been out on the street for almost a day.” Kurt closed his eyes as renewed anger flooded through his body. Dave watched a muscle tick in his jaw and remembered Kurt’s tenuous temper from their college days.

 

Kurt blew out a breath, mentally counting down, trying to get his emotions under control as Dave ran a comforting hand over his shoulders. “Do you love him?” Dave looked into his eyes and found the truth in their clearness. “You never could lie well, Hummel. What are you going to do?”

 

“Soon as he’s old enough I’m going to marry him.” That was it. He’d finally said it out loud, admitted it to someone other than himself. “I won’t let him go. He’s mine, Dave.”

 

“Does he know this?” Dave left his side and began filling the kettle up, his mind trying to come up with something to say to Kurt about all this.

 

“No. He’s only seventeen, still in school. Still in my  _fucking_  classroom. I can’t.” Kurt ran his hand through his hair again, almost pulling some out. “We’re already walking a fine line, trouble isn’t the word for all this.

 

“So you’re not being an idiot then. Good. I was worried when you said he was seventeen.” Dave faced his oldest friend, his eyes full of concern. “You said you hadn’t slept together yet?”

 

“Slept, yes. Had sex, no.” Kurt paused, pacing forward a bit. “He’s not ready yet and I won’t… Not till he’s eighteen. I’m not a complete moron.”

 

Dave’s booming laughter filled the kitchen. “Glad to hear that. You do know the shit involved.”

 

It wasn’t a question, but then he hadn’t expected it to be one. He trusted Dave to speak his mind and to tell it straight, not sugar coat things. He might go off on how the universe would see things right but he wouldn’t ever lie to him or withhold his opinion.

 

“Yeah, which is why I’m not pushing him.”

 

“Okay then. You just have to have a little faith in everything then.” Dave leaned over the table and glanced down at the cards Liam had left out. Dave recognised the pictures enough to know what they meant. Years with Liam had taught him a few things about his husband’s beliefs. Whilst the beginning cards were really good cards there was the possibility that it was all temporary and there was hope at the end. Oh yes, the King of Cups, the Price and the very last card was the Ace of Cups.  _You, him, happiness and lots of babies._

 

“Kurt, come look at this.” Dave waved a finger toward the cards. “They’re not all good. What’s left. Now, I’m no Liam but… I’d say things need to get worse before they get better.”

 

“God, Dave. Holding on is hard.”

 

“Hey, you made friends with the closeted bully that made your life hell. Now you’re at his house, with his husband and daughters, about to have some tea and curl up to watch Elf. If we aren’t living proof of ‘It Gets Better’ what is?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The brother’s spent almost the whole day ignoring each other, neither of them willing to budge on their decision; Blaine firmly resolved not to speak about anything involving Sebastian or money. He had even managed to successfully deter Tina and her endless questions by promising to explain it all once he had managed to calm himself down and he wasn’t so angry about the whole situation but he just couldn’t promise when that would be.

 

He was just struggling to come to grips with how incredibly insensitive Cooper was behaving. Why would he want to dig up something so hurtful on Christmas Day? What was he thinking? Blaine shook his head, not having the effort to be able to even try to figure out what was going on in his older brother’s mind. It just seemed that Cooper couldn’t get past the idea of the money, not caring about what Blaine had to say, or how he felt about the whole situation.

 

He just wanted nothing more to do with Sebastian. If he never saw or heard the other boy every again he would be as happy as the proverbial Larry. But, obviously, he wasn’t afforded that luxury. Blaine cupped his hand over the slightly growing bulge of his belly. All of his clothes sit fit him, pretty much, except for some of the tighter polo’s. His jeans had a big more give around the waist than he originally thought so he hadn’t had to worry about those but getting saddened by a couple of shirts not fitting seemed petty considering there was an every growing list of other worries to think about. He stared at his stomach in the mirror and flattened his shirt, pulling it back tight against his skin.

 

_Nope, you’re still so itty, bitty, Baby. Hi there though!_

Blaine laughed to himself before collapsing backward on his bed. Tina had left, for home, almost an hour ago and Blaine had been holed up in the bedroom since he had waved goodbye to her trying not to think about Sebastian, or Cooper, or money but it was proving very difficult. It had been almost two months since the last time he’d actually had a conversation with Sebastian and Blaine had finally had enough of all the reminders dotted around his room. Sure, they had never officially broken up but the way Sebastian had treated Blaine made him wonder if he made their ‘official’ relationship up in his head all along.

 

A quick survey of his room proved his point, there was pictures of the two of them on his bedside cabinet and taped to his mirror, odd gifts and stolen jumpers, notes Blaine had passed Sebastian in classes where the reply had only ever been ‘xo later’ to anything that was said and a toy donkey he had won Blaine at the fair Blaine had forced him to go to the Summer just gone.  Blaine was sick of looking at them, sick of having them all around him.

 

Grabbing his wastebasket Blaine ripped down the pictures and threw them in, next moving around the room to grab every trinket around the room that reminded him of Sebastian. Within minutes of his frenzied attack on his room the wastebasket was almost full and he knew he was going to need something bigger to hold the remains of his failed attempt a relationship. He wanted to be ruthless, cut Sebastian from his life completely and just dump the stuff somewhere far away. Running down the stairs to find something bigger, Blaine rummaged around in the basement and finally found a box. Hauling the empty box upstairs only took a few minutes and, despite some loud banging noises, he managed it upstairs without Cooper’s interference.

 

Blaine never realised how much he had kept from Sebastian as mementos. From stupid little notes to receipts from takeaways they’d had when he was allowed ‘round the other boys house, even an expensive notebook Sebastian had brought Blaine after he had gone on holiday, with his parents, for three weeks and completely ignored Blaine’s texts and calls the entire time. Blaine just threw everything he could find into the box, it was all rubbish and he wanted none of it left in his home.

 

Throwing an old cross-country t-shirt into the box, Blaine looked at the pile of cards and notes on his bed, trying to figure out how to get rid of those. He emptied the wastebasket into the box and then put the cards into the bin and raced back downstairs into the dark kitchen. He grabbed the automatic lighter for their grill and headed to their back yard. He opened the barbeque and removed the grill, then tossed all of papers inside. Before he could second guess himself he held the lighter to a loose paper note and watched whilst the flame caught and stayed. He threw the paper down with the rest before it had a chance to burn him and stepped back from the fire, watching as the flames flared high and burnt the grill’s new contents.

 

_Bye Sebastian._

 

The flames must have blazed too high because whilst Blaine watched, his eyes never leaving the orange glow, the back door crashed open and Cooper shouted at him from the back porch.

 

“Blaine! What the hell are you doing!?”

 

Without turning to look at him, Blaine simply replied. “Getting rid of some trash. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“What? Don’t worry about it? What is it all B?” Cooper started down the steps, the small extinguisher they kept in the kitchen clutched in his hands, “B, move away for me.”

 

“It’s going to die down in a couple of minutes anyway” And even as the two brother’s watched the flames began to lessen, the ashes of Blaine’s first boyfriend blowing away on a light breeze.

 

Cooper dropped the extinguisher, a confused expression on his face as he watched his little brother stare into the fire. “What was all that?”

 

The fire had burned out and there was nothing left, mere curled and burned pieces of paper in the bottom of the barbeque. Blaine put the grills back on, then closed the top. “Just papers and stuff that I don’t want any more.”

 

Cooper looked at him, noting the lack of emotion in his eyes, but the faint tracks of tears on his cheeks made a mockery of the stoic expression. As Blaine walked passed, Cooper held out his arm, slowing Blaine’s movement. “Please, Blainey, what was it?”

 

“Like I said Cooper, it was just notes and cards that I don’t want any more. Nothing important.” Blaine shook off his hold, heading toward the house.

 

Finally catching on, Cooper followed his inside, asking quietly, “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“No, I just wanted to get rid of the garbage.”

 

Without any further explanation, Blaine went back up the stairs to his bedroom.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

The box was still sat at the side of his bedroom when Blaine went to bed that night. He couldn’t decide what to do with the clothes or the other pieces, he only knew that he just wanted nothing left of Sebastian or their time together hanging around. That part of his life was over and part of his past now. The only reminder he was more than happy to keep was his Baby but, by now, Baby was just that.  _His._  She wasn’t Sebastian’s at all. Sebastian had no right to make any demands or decisions regarding the two of them. If Blaine had his way there would only be one thing he would ever ask of Sebastian and that wasn’t so much the money but the acknowledgment that he had some responsibility, also. In the back of his mind he knew his thoughts were contradictory in a way, but he didn’t care. Sebastian should take some… Not responsibility, but he should at least admit that the baby was his. He wasn’t even doing that.

 

Blaine had just gotten out of the shower and was deciding what he wanted to wear to bed that night when his phone began to ring. He glanced quickly at the clock on his dresser and guessed it would be far too early to be Kurt and that it would either be Tina or Sam.

 

However his insides melted when he heard Kurt’s voice answer and Blaine sighed into the phone.

 

“Hi”

 

“How was your day, sweetheart?”

 

“Okay. Cooper had an aneurysm about something and we almost got into a very big argument but we didn’t in the end.” Blaine fiddled with the bottom corner of his towel, wondering if he had the confidence to tease Kurt about what he wasn’t wearing.

 

“Anything in particular?” He had a pretty good idea of what it might be, but he figured he’d ask anyway.

 

“About the money. They upped the offer.” He’d told Kurt everything during one of their play park meetings and Kurt agreed with him about wanting Sebastian to pay monthly.

 

“Cooper wants you to change your mind?”

 

“Yeah…” He hesitated and then quickly blurted out. “Let’s move on though. How was your day?”

 

“Good, yeah. The girls are still adorable as anything. They charged in and woke me up about six this morning. Absolute nightmare.” Kurt laughed along with Blaine, Blaine picturing Kurt being rumpled and sexy so early in the morning, Kurt just loving the sound of Blaine chuckling.

 

“I still miss you Kurt. A lot.” Blaine’s voice dropped to a whisper and Kurt could almost see the sad expression marring his boyfriends face.

 

“Me too. I kept thinking about you all day.” He settled down onto the bed, shifting so that the pillows were bunched behind him. The tension between them was thick, and he couldn’t think of a way to break it, torn between what he wanted and what he thought Blaine needed.

 

Blaine wasn’t comfortable. His towel was getting to the stage where it was damp, cold and kind of heavy and it was hard to keep it up and hold the phone at the same time. “I need to put you down for a second. My towel keeps falling down and I’m getting cold.”

 

“Towel?”

 

“I just got out of the shower.”

 

And the tension was gone. “Did you, now?”

 

Blaine’s breath hitched as he answered him. “Yeah. I’m, uhm, I haven’t dried off yet.”

 

“Ohh, Blaine…” He breathed heavily through his nose, inhaling sharply. “Still all wet?”

 

“Yeah.” His voice took on the tones Kurt had managed to coax from him the night before. “I still wish you were here…”

 

And just like that Kurt was lost.


	24. Chapter Twenty Four

A couple of days after Christmas Blaine had convinced Sam and Tina into helping him get rid of the box full of Sebastian’s stuff. Together the three friends had managed to cram the box into the backseat of Sam’s little Corsa and positioned themselves around it. Sam looked up into his rear-view mirror to talk to Blaine. “Where to, today?”

 

“Sebastian’s house.” Blaine stared Sam down, not afraid to meet his friend’s eyes, knowing exactly what he wanted

 

“Are you sure? Why do you wanna go there?” Sam had swung around to look at him, his expression clearly confused.

 

Tina was busying shaking her head in the front passenger seat. “This isn’t a good idea Blainey-Days. He’s a complete idiot. What are you going to do if you do see him? Really not good. I think we should wait… ‘til never.”

 

Blaine just mirrored Tina’s head movements and shook his own head at them both. “I don’t want to talk to him, or even see him, this is a drive by. I swear.”

 

“This is a bad idea.” Sam turned around and put the car in gear, despite his misgivings.

 

“Trust me guys, I know what I’m doing.” The two in the front shared a sceptical look, but neither one said anything.

 

Sam stopped the car just over half a block away from Sebastian’s house, once more checking with Blaine to make sure this was _definitely_  what he wanted to do. When Blaine told him, once again, that he just needed Sam to keep driving, he was sure. Just as they were passing Sebastian’s house an idea hit Blaine in the face.

 

“Sam, stop the car.”

 

“No no, no no, Blaine. Look at all the cars, someone will be home, and this is _such_ a bad idea!” Tina was babbling away, waving her hands around the car just as Blaine was slipping from the backseat.

 

“T, I need to do this.” Blaine leaned back into the car and grabbed one end of the box, pulling it toward himself, Sam caught on to what Blaine wanted to do and patted Tina’s knee, in a calming gesture, before climbing out of the car himself to help Blaine with the other end of the box. Blaine looked up just as Sam lifted his end and gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

 

The two boys emptied the contents of the box onto the Smythe’s front lawn, Blaine landing a kick to a t-shirt just for good measure, before marching over to the front door and ringing the bell twice. Without waiting for someone to answer Blaine turned around and walked back to where Sam was waiting in the middle of the lawn. His grin grew the closer he got to his friend and Sam couldn’t help the laughter bubbling out of him after seeing how happy Blaine looked.

 

He was nearly doubled over with his laughter between the look on Blaine’s face and Tina’s, still incessant, babbling coming from the car. The front door was suddenly flung open and Sebastian’s shouted outrage sounded through the air was the final straw for Sam; he lost it completely, tears falling from his eyes in mirth. He ran back over to his car, needing the stability of his car to keep his body up. Blaine walked away just behind Sam, completely ignoring Sebastian’s shouts, and climbed into the car, waiting for Sam to get it as well.

 

Sebastian had made his way down the pathway and was yelling at Sam, his face bright red with anger, his face just inches away from the blonde teen. It was clear from Sebastian’s face that he was ready to get into another fight however Sam wasn’t about to give the other boy that satisfaction and he simply followed Blaine’s suit walking around his car, getting back in the driver’s seat, and starting the engine before driving away. Tina and Blaine chanced a look behind them to be met with Sebastian standing in the middle of the street, shouting at the top of his lungs after the car, and it just took one look from Blaine for Tina to join in with Sam’s laughter as they left the street, and Sebastian, behind them all.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Blaine was really beginning to dislike his brother. It hurt him to admit that, even to himself, but Blaine was slowly coming to the realisation that when he came to live with Cooper he forced him to grow up and now the lines between the two brothers were so blurred that no-one knew if they were coming or going. They’d spent the days following Christmas still arguing about the money and what Blaine was going to do once the baby arrived.

 

The silver lining in Blaine’s Christmas vacation had been the nightly phone calls from Kurt. He’d called him every night, never past midnight, and they’d spend hours talking to each other, as well as partaking in _other_ activities, but Blaine counted that as talking as well, words were used after all.

 

Other than the moment that he had dumped everything of Sebastian’s back on his front lawn and the phone calls, his Christmas vacation had been awful. Which explained, in a way, why he was looking forward to school starting again. Cooper had plans for New Year’s Eve and had invited Blaine but Blaine declined, Tina having offered him a sleepover. However Blaine wasn’t feeling very well when it came around to leaving for Tina’s, he hadn’t been feeling well all day. He had slept from midmorning until the early afternoon but that hadn’t helped much at all. He was currently hunched over the toilet, his stomach clenching with cramps, nothing was staying put and this was, hands down, the worst he had felt in his pregnancy so far.

 

The mashed potatoes he had tried to force down earlier had long since vacated his stomach and there was nothing and no-one he wanted around, except the obvious. He’d promised himself when Kurt had told him he wouldn’t be in Lima for the holidays that Blaine wouldn’t call him and beg him to come back, no matter how much he wanted him to. Right now all he wanted was to be able to crawl into Kurt’s arms, rest his head against his chest. He wanted to curl up with the man he loved whenever he wanted, to feel his strong hands cupping his cheeks when they kissed, or smoothing over his hair when he started to drift off into sleep. Blaine wanted… He wanted to be with Kurt, properly, in the open, no hiding and no pretending that this wasn’t real.

 

He leaned back against the bath tub, putting his head down on the top ledge and breathing heavily through his nose, his mind focused on images of Kurt and what he wanted for the future. He loved Kurt, he was happy to admit that to himself even if he wasn’t ready to say the words out loud, and he wanted to show Kurt. He wanted to give Kurt everything he could, everything he wanted.

 

Finally after just under twenty minutes trying to control his breathing, his stomach calmed and Blaine was able to stumble from the bathroom back into his bedroom. He dropped onto his bed and closed his eyes, pulling his stuffed bear and Kurt’s t-shirt into his arms and settling back into sleep.

 

 

* * *

 

 

For the first time in five years Kurt wasn’t enjoying himself at Dave and Liam’s New Year’s Eve Party. Obviously he had chosen to forgo a date this year and instead of mingling with the other guests he was sat, in the kitchen, alone. More than one of Dave’s colleagues or their partners had tried coercing Kurt into coming away from his perch in the kitchen but he hadn’t budged. At the beginning of the night he had tried to get into the spirit, going with flow, and tried to have a good time but it just wouldn’t work for him. He missed Blaine. Times like this, he felt like half a person. How on earth had Blaine managed to burrow himself into Kurt’s life so quickly? Kurt had never wanted to spend every waking moment with just one person before. None of the men he’d dated had ever affected him in the way Blaine managed to with just a smile.

 

Blaine was gorgeous as a seventeen year old boy and it hurt Kurt’s brain to think just how gorgeous he would become as he grew older but it wasn’t Blaine’s looks that had drawn Kurt in. It was… Him. Everything about him. His grin, his strength, his smooth hands and the innocence trapped in his beautiful eyes. There wasn’t a part of Blaine that Kurt didn’t love. Kurt closed his eyes, fighting the sudden need to just be near Blaine. He jumped visibly when a hand clamped down on his arm and he opened his eyes again to see Dave in front of him, watching him intently.

 

“All right, Kurt?” The clear concern in his voice was Kurt’s undoing.

 

“No. Not at all.” He shook his head trying to make some sense of the jumbled emotions trapped in there. “I can’t stop thinking about him.”

 

Dave moved away, getting ice for his drink. “What’s wrong?”

 

“God. I wish I knew.” Kurt looked away from Dave’s unwavering gaze, not willing to let him see just how upset he was. Blinking away tears, Kurt almost growled in agitation.

 

“I feel like a part of me isn’t right, it’s missing, I can’t catch a breath because he’s not here and I feel like an idiot for letting myself get this far.”

 

Slowly Dave put his glass down, trying to think of an answer that wouldn’t make Kurt shy away from him.

 

“What you’re feeling…” He paused, at a loss for words. “That’s how I felt when Liam left. When I was using you… I felt like my heart had a beat but it wasn’t the right one.”

 

“You didn’t just use me, David. We did it to each other. I was trying to keep my mind off of anything that was my dad.” Kurt finally turned to look at his friend and when he saw the tears in his eyes Dave reached forward and dragged Kurt into his large embrace, letting Kurt pillow his head on his chest.

 

“Fuck. Kurt, don’t.” He tried to sooth him, the same way he would with the girls, pitching his voice low so no-one would be able to hear them. “Go upstairs. Go and call him. Then come down and get shit faced with me, huh? Liam’s the designated parent tonight”

 

Nodding as he moved out of Dave’s arms, Kurt wiped at his eyes, looking just like a lost little boy. Dave’s hand on his arm, again, stopped him from leaving the room. “Hummel. Liam told me… Don’t leave the house, okay?”

 

 

“What?” His voice was thick with unshed tears, but he heard the warning. “Why?”

 

“Promise me, you won’t leave until the morning. It’s not…” Dave swallowed heavily. “Not safe to leave.”

 

It had been a long time since Liam gave Dave clear warnings about anything but Kurt had learned not to ignore it.

 

“I promise.”

 

Dave let him go without another word.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Two hours later and Kurt was severely regretting his promised to Dave not to leave the house. He had gone directly upstairs after leaving Dave, intent on calling Blaine and then just spending the rest of the night talking to him. What he hadn’t planned on what the reaction of his boyfriend when he called.

 

He was crying. Had been crying for most of the phone call, when he wasn’t darting off to throw up, instead of lying on their respective beds, just talking. Kurt was pacing the floor and Blaine was sobbing down the phone.

 

“Sweetheart. Baby, please, take a deep breath and try to calm down.” He was hiccupping and his breathing sounded loud. Kurt swore he could almost hear him shaking.

 

“I’m trying, god, I’m trying. I feel awful and I just can’t stop.” Blaine whined, which only increased Kurt’s agitation, Kurt was practically stomping across the floor caught in a trap between Liam’s warning and Blaine tears. He had nowhere to go except in circles within the confines of his four walls. He felt like every nerve he had was on edge, his insides were twisted and his teeth permanently clenched, he couldn’t make himself relax. His back was to the door, his attention solely on his boyfriend’s sobs, and he missed it completely when Dave slipped into the room behind him.

 

Dave’s hand on his back had Kurt jumping out of his skin, but his soft whispers and concerned expression calmed Kurt a bit. Dave held out his hand for Kurt’s phone and it was reluctantly handed over.

 

“Blaine?”

 

“Who’s this?” Belligerent wariness filled him and Blaine forgot what he’d been about to say to Kurt when the unknown male voice sounded in his ear.

 

A sigh that ended on a low laugh escaped from Dave. “I’m hoping I’ve been mentioned somewhere in your conversations. My name’s Dave.”

 

“Kurt’s old boyfriend?” The wariness got more pronounced and Dave relented.

 

“Extremely old boyfriend. I’m an old married man now. Not, nearly, good enough for our Kurtsie.” He laughed, winking at the subject of his mockery. “C’mon, I’m a daddy now. Tell me why Kurt’s all pent up and angry looking, I’m a good listener.”

 

Blaine sniffed before launching into a litany of why he wasn’t happy. Dave listened, not once interrupting Blaine until he had stopped crying and was talking calmly. He waited until Blaine’s words were trickling down to a standstill instead of the torrent they had begun as.

 

“I’m not a carrier. I’ve never been pregnant. But Liam, my husband, was once. He can’t carry anymore. We’ve adopted now. But the first months of his only pregnancy were shit. Everything was upside down and nothing helps. When you’re feeling better, come see us. You can have a tea party with my baby girls and, I promised, every bad thing you’re feeling will disappear once you see them. You can even bring Mr Groucho with you.”

 

Even from where he was standing, Kurt could hear the pain leaving Blaine’s tones and when Dave offered for Blaine to come and visit Kurt could almost feel how big Blaine’s grin would be. Dave walked closer, letting Kurt hear their conversation more clearly.

 

“Just so you know, we go hard on tea parties. It’s big hats or dress up like an animal and I’m _always_ Mrs Hippo.”

 

Blaine’s tentative laugh sounded softly and the tension running through Kurt’s body eased. They traded a few more words but Kurt was no longer paying much attention so he was briefly startled when Dave gave him back the phone and left the room, humming a tune from some old Disney film as he went.

 

“Hello, sweetheart.”

 

“He sounds nice, Kurt.”

 

He laughed, thinking of all the times Dave nearly killed him, and said “Only sometimes, honey, the rest of the time he’s a complete nightmare.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

He was running late, too late, and because he was late the entire world was conspiring against him. Blaine had woken up late and been unable to start getting ready for school then and there because his nausea hit him full force. He’d spent too much time huddled over the toilet both before and after his morning shower. It had taken all his willpower to drag himself downstairs and when he was getting himself a drink to settle his stomach his brother decided it was the perfect time to ask Blaine that _one_ question.

 

“Have you thought any more about the Smythe’s offer?”

 

Blaine leaned his head against the refrigerator door, exhaustion and defeat flooding his body.

 

“Coop, I can’t do this now. I feel awful.”

 

“B.” Cooper slammed his cup down on the kitchen counter. “No. We are not going to push this to the side for later. We’re sorting this now. Now listen-“

 

“Why should I listen, huh, you never listen to me. You don’t give a damn about what _I_ want. So I don’t care what you want.” Blaine squared against his brother, neither brother willing to budge.

 

“Blaine, I can’t take this teen angst attitude. We need to accept this offer, and soon, before it’s taken away.”

 

“My _attitude_!? Whatever. I’m going to school.” Blaine started to walk away when Cooper grasped his upper arm and swung him around to face him.

 

“We are not done here, Blaine. Don’t you dare walk away.”

 

Pulling his arm from Cooper’s bruising grip, Blaine snapped, he pushed Cooper away knocking his brother against the counter and stood there, gasping and shaking with hurt and anger.

 

“I need to go. Do whatever you want, Coop. You’re really taking the Anderson name with this one.”

 

Cooper reacted without thinking, he pushed himself away from the counter, he raised his hand and slapped his little brother across the face.

 

“Don’t you ever take that tone with me.”

 

“Wow. Doesn’t this scene seem familiar?” Blaine raised his hand to the stringing side of his face, tears slipping from his eyes. “What is wrong with you, Coop, this isn’t you!”

 

“It’s _you_ , Blaine, it’s always been you. _You_ are the common factor here. Don’t you see!? Why can’t you just be _normal!?_ ” Both men were shouting by now and Blaine pushed his way out of the kitchen.

 

“I _am_ normal. You taught me that. It’s you that needs to think about what he’s doing, not me.”

 

“Don’t you dare walk out that door. We are not done here.” Cooper caught Blaine’s shoulder in a tight grip, preventing him from walking out the door. “If you walk out that door now, don’t… Just don’t you dare walk out that door.”

 

“Let me go, Cooper. I have to go to school. I’m already late.” Blaine pulled away from him and without a backward glance he left the house.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Blaine was about half a block away from school when the final bell rang, signalling the start of the school day, he considering just leaving school and going back home but Cooper was probably still there stewing about the stupid money and Blaine just didn’t want to face him again. He had no choice but to go forward.

 

The fates, unfortunately, were still against Blaine because Sue was standing at the doors of the school waiting for any latecomers so she could get her own cheap thrills through punishments. The grin covering her face made her look like a caricature done on a cheap tourist street and Blaine knew his day just went from bad to worse but it wouldn’t be worth arguing with whatever Sue deemed to give him, especially since Sue had already warned Blaine this would be happening, no second chances.  Sue’s smile grew and grew with every step closer that Blaine made.

 

Blaine glanced up in time to see Miss Berry open the door behind Sue and, after a quick look into her eyes, Blaine had a feeling that she was going to try and intervene for him. Rachel began to speak but Sue silenced her with a hand. “Not now, Berry. I’m about to do something I’ve wanted to do for a _long_ time.”

 

Turning her attention to Blaine, Sue’s grin grew, he cowered a bit under her intent gaze.

 

 “Such a good morning, Mr Anderson. First day back from vacation and the weather is nice again, and look, you finally decided you’d come to school today. Did our schedule interfere with a previous engagement?”

 

With a deep breath Blaine raised his gaze to meet Sue’s, false bravado written all over his face, he wasn’t about to give the witch the satisfaction of knowing he was upset about everything.

 

“Good morning Coach Sylvester. I guess I must be really early today, no-one else is here.”

 

He wasn’t playing dumb; he was more intent on needling the little monster as a way of getting a bit of his own back.

 

A sadistic sound pretending to be a laugh emerged from Sue’s throat. “Oh no, Mr Anderson. The truth is you are very late, and apparently you decided to disregard my warnings about being tardy, so now you give me no choice but to punish you.” Her hands were practically rubbing together, the only other outward sign of her intense glee over what she was about to say. “Mr Anderson, please accompany me to my office so I can suspend you.”

 

“Do we have to? I mean if you’re going to suspend me, why not just get it over with and do it out here?” Blaine’s sarcasm wasn’t lost on Sue, but she chose to ignore him and the presence of Rachel behind her.

 

“Have to do the paperwork Mr Anderson. Besides, you have nothing else to do but sit around. Doesn’t really matter where you do it.”

 

Ignoring the presence of her Assistant Principal, Sue turned her back, ushering Blaine inside. Rachel watched them go, wondering when, or even if, Sue was going to notice the slight bruising on Blaine’s left cheek and arm.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Closing the door on Sue as she was gloating about his suspension, Blaine crushed the childish urge to slam the door shut. He walked toward the out offices, intent on just leaving the building as quickly as possible, because Sue had insisted that he carry his own suspension orders to the attendance office, something that was normally done by the Head.

 

Busy in his own world, Blaine didn’t realise he was eavesdropping on two teachers standing by the attendance office until something caught his attention.

 

“Apparently he’s in his English class.”

 

“So how did they get caught?” Was the query from the second, slightly older teacher.

 

“Not sure. I heard two different stories. Someone said they’d gotten a picture of them in the studen’ts house, but I’m not sure I believe that.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because that’s just too easy. The other story is that someone saw them at a truck stop during the Thanksgiving break.”

 

“Do we know what will happen?”

 

“Well, he’s gonna get suspended from his job and he won’t be allowed to teach or have any interaction with the students. But I’m sure I heard they were going to arrest him before school this morning.”

 

“So he’s an English teacher?”

 

“Not any more he’s not.”

 

_Oh, God…_

Blaine listened, absolutely horrified by what he was hearing, _God, no._ He dropped his paperwork on the desk before numbly hurrying away. _No Kurt, no._

 

His heart in his throat, and tears streaming unchecked from his eyes, Blaine fled from the school grounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Urgh, I hate writing Cooper like a dick. I'm currently off work with Chicken Pox so I am catching up on some writing (I'm also doing the CrissColfer Bingo! :D) so hopefully the next update will be with you guys by Sunday. But I'm not promising nothin'!
> 
> (Oh, and I'm sorry about the cliffhanger! *hides*)


	25. Chapter Twenty Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't take too much of your time here 'cause I know you guys are just happy I updated when I actually said I would but my normal happy AN is actually tinged with a flip-tonne of sadness this time because I got some reeeally horrid messages (FanFic, Ao3 and Tumblr) after I posted the last chapter and it really just sucked everything out of me. I've got one chapter half-edited and I'll try and get that up next weekend but the break after that might be a little longer. I won't abandon the story but I don't rreally know how to deal with the hate tbh.
> 
> So for this update. If you can't say anything happy, please keep it to yourself! Thank you and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

 

He ran.

 

_God, he… They know. They all know, how?_

 

Tears streamed down Blaine's face as he got further and further away from the school, away from his house, away from everyone.

 

_Please, I need him to be safe. This is not fair, not to him._

 

He tripped, as he turned a corner, scraping his palms on the harsh pavement as he braced himself from landing on his stomach. He didn't get back up, couldn't get back up, he rolled to the side and cried so hard he started to gag. He felt so alone, he just wanted Kurt, he couldn't bear the thought of Kurt being taking away from him. Blaine just sobbed harder, his heart breaking, as he realised he really was alone. Cooper had practically thrown him out of their home and Kurt…

 

Fresh tears broke out and he wrapped his arms tightly around his knees, completely unaware of the passage of time or even where he had landed, he cried until there were just no more tears left. Numb, and lost, he stumbled to his feet. Luckily it was still daylight so he followed street signs until the familiarity of his house came into sight.

 

Cooper wasn't home when Blaine made his way in the backdoor. Moving almost mechanically Blaine gathered up some clothes, grabbing his old teddy bear and Kurt's t-shirt as well, he looked around the room for anything else and, on a sudden impulse, he rushed into Cooper's room and dumped the contents of his grandmother's jewelry box into his bag. With one final look, he headed back downstairs and out of the door.

 

* * *

 

 

Kurt was really looking forward to his sixth period class, it would be the first time in over a week that they would be in the same place. Kurt wasn't entirely sure about how he was going to school his reaction to seeing Blaine once again, both his expressions and his body, but at least he'd be near Blaine.

 

Every confidence he had shared with Dave, every word he'd spoken about Blaine, had been heavily weighted with unadulterated adoration. He wanted, he needed, Blaine in his life with no hindrances. He had been deadly serious when he had told Dave he wanted to spend his life with Blaine, he wanted to put a ring on Blaine's finger and belong to him eternally. It never mattered to him that he was carrying some-one else's child, that idiot didn't deserve Blaine, wasn't worthy of either of them, he was willing to walk out and throw away the best possible gift he'd ever been given for no good reason.

 

Sebastian Smythe was the world's biggest tool. Although, in reality, Kurt should be sending the boy a parade of flowers and trumpets, if he wasn't such an utter idiot then Kurt wouldn't be in the position he was in now, he would only have Blaine in his life when the boy was in his classroom.

 

Kurt thought about Blaine, how he'd first noticed him, and wondered if falling in love with him wasn't an inevitability. If maybe they were destined somehow, like they'd played out this scenario a thousand times, in as many places, and he always fell in love with Blaine. It had almost been instantaneous. The second he saw Blaine not as a student, but as someone other than just a child, and it was practically that very moment he'd fallen in love.

 

Almost three months ago Blaine had exploded into his world outside of school, bringing something that Kurt hadn't had in his life, possibly ever, he brought light to Kurt's world. Blaine was warm, like a human sun, firing Kurt up from within and thawing out the edges of his cooling heart. Blain was his hope, his future and Kurt planned on letting Blaine know that as soon as he felt the boy was ready to hear it.

 

The bell rang and Kurt's class began slowly filling up, whilst he forced his mind on more mundane matters, he paced behind his desk keeping his back purposefully to the door to try and control his inevitable reaction to his boyfriend's presence.

 

Finally, the late bell rang and Kurt turned to face his class. Kurt's eyes fell on the only empty desk in his classroom.

 

Blaine wasn't there.

 

* * *

 

"Kurt?"

 

At the sound of his name Kurt span around to see Rachel waving him over to where she had parked her car that morning. His best friend was clearly worked up, her expression reading obvious agitation with a clenched jaw and blazing eyes.

 

"Rach, what's wrong?"

 

"I've just spent the better part of an hour practically banging my head against a brick wall. Please say let's go for a drink?" Rachel shrugged off her cardigan and threw her handbag into her backseat.

 

"Bad day?" Rachel nodded her head, pleadingly looking at her friend for his agreement. "What happened?"

 

Rachel looked around the car park. "Come on. We can talk on the way." She was quiet for a few moments and then looked back up at Kurt when he looked concerned. "Jesse's meeting us there."

 

* * *

 

"She did  _what!?_ " Kurt growled into the fist he had made against his mouth whilst Jesse watched both teacher's expressions. "You have  _got_  to be kidding me."

 

"I wish I was." Rachel put her empty glass down on the bar top and nodded to the bartender for a refill.

 

Kurt clenched his jaw, anger plastered across his face, "What a bitch."

 

"My sentiments exactly." Rachel agreed. "I also had the fantastic pleasure of calling Cooper Anderson and you can imagine he didn't take it too well. He was stomping around on the phone and said he was going to take the afternoon off to sort everything out."

 

Kurt had to bite his tongue to stop him telling Rachel that Cooper's version of 'sorting things out' probably meant leaving the boy home alone for a week or so. He never noticed the struggle his best friend was going through but Rachel's next question chilled his blood.

 

"How well do you know Blaine, Kurt?"

 

Kurt froze, afraid in more ways than one about how he would answer that question, but was saved when Rachel continued to talk, clearly not searching for an actual answer from Kurt.

 

"I tried to tell Sue but she just wouldn't listen. I think some-one's hitting Blaine, there were some very suspect looking marks on him when I saw him this morning. Do you know if he's still dating Sebastian?"

 

A red mist settled over Kurt's mind and it took all his willpower for him not to storm out and confront Blaine about who touched him.

 

"Hm?" With a very visible effort to get his temper under control he continued to speak. "No, he's dating the cheerleader. Blonde, too much bounce in her step?"

 

"Right…" Rachel stared off into nothing, trying to pull together what he'd seen this morning with anything that made a little bit of sense. Kurt was clenching and unclenching his fists under the table, feeling furious with Sue for not giving a flying crap and he wanted to punish whoever had hurt Blaine. His mind said Cooper must have been the one do mark his boyfriend but his heart didn't want to believe that Cooper could harm his own brother.

 

"Are you okay, Kurt?" Jesse had been watching the other man closely, much closer than Rachel had been, and he saw more than a teacher upset about a student, he saw a man who was possessively angry.

 

"I'm fine." He was lying through his teeth but he just couldn't bring himself to care. Rachel wouldn't notice and he didn't owe Jesse any excuses. Kurt shook his head when Rachel tilted her glass toward his, silently asking if he wanted a refill.

 

"No, I'm teaching early tomorrow."

 

Jesse sipped his drink, his eyes following both Kurt and his girlfriend's movements. He watched the emotions flitting through Kurt's eyes as Jesse tried to solve what was really going on with Blaine Anderson. He had some idea but held his tongue as Kurt refused a lift back to the school, from Rachel, and headed for the exit from the bar.

 

"I've never seen him this upset about a student suspension before." Rachel mused aloud before turning her attention to Jesse.

 

_No, I bet you haven't. But then I don't think he's just any student._

 

* * *

 

Kurt went straight to their park, looking for Blaine. He had to be there, if Blaine was in trouble he'd head there, at least Kurt hoped he would. It was just past six thirty when Kurt arrived, too early for their usual time but he was happy to wait for Blaine, just to know he was okay. Kurt began to pace the perimeter of the park, schooling his temper, whilst he waited for Blaine to text him to say he'd left his house and he'd be there soon, as usual.

 

_Twenty past nine._

 

Blaine hadn't shown at all.

 

Kurt was really starting to worry, he had calling Blaine repeatedly only to get the same message every time. He wasn't answering; his phone went right to voice-mail.

 

* * *

 

"Tina, hi, it's Cooper."

 

Tina hesitated for a moment before answering, unsure of why Blaine's older brother was calling her. "Hi Cooper, what's up?"

 

"I just needed to ask…" He paused before starting again with a sigh. "Blaine hasn't come home from school. Have you seen him?"

 

The teen took a deep breath of her own before answering. "No, I haven't seen him today."

 

Cooper wasn't convinced that Tina was telling him the truth, something in the girls voice told him that not everything was above board here. Tina knew something, either Blaine was with her or she knew where Blaine was. "If you do see him, send him home. Please."

 

"Yeah, of course."

 

Tina hung up the phone, completely confused, Blaine had called her earlier and left a voicemail saying that he felt home sick and that he would call Tina later but now Cooper was saying that Blaine hadn't been home at all.

Something wasn't right.

 

* * *

 

The lights were still on and from Kurt's spot from across the street he could just make out one shadow moving around the living room. The television was on, the lights flickering and reflecting against the window behind the sheet curtains, and there was no sign of anyone aside from Cooper being home.

 

Blaine's room was dark. No lights, no music, no sign of life at all.

 

Feeling very much like a dirty old man, Kurt circled around the house as quietly as he could manage and eyed up a tree growing up next to Blaine's window. He surveyed the branches and plotted his route up the tree, silently thanking his dad for forcing him to play with the boy across the street that climbed everything in sight and causing Kurt to have to save him more than once. He scanned the neighbourhood for any prying eyes before grabbing the lowest branch and swinging himself up into the tree. Once he had made his way up the tree, Blaine's window opened easily and without any noise – he really needed to talk to his boyfriend about security.

 

The room seemed, at first glance, to be completely undisturbed but as Kurt looked closer the more his chest felt constricted. There was something gone, something missing. Carefully he crossed the floor and opened one of the dresser drawers. He chuckled to himself after feeling like a giant perv outside the first drawer he opened was his underage boyfriend's underwear. His expression soon changed when he realised the drawer was half empty, quickly checking the next drawer he found that to be the case again. Kurt span around, looking for more evidence of the suspicion that was swirling in his mind.

 

He wouldn't…

 

Heading over to his bed, Kurt looked under pillows and behind the headboard for the t-shirt Blaine said he wore to sleep every night. It was nowhere to be found.

 

Blaine was gone.

 

Kurt panicked, grabbed the closest thing to him, and quickly turned around and headed back out of the window before Cooper heard him moving around.

 

* * *

 

Kurt walked home through their park, hoping that he would find some evidence that Blaine had been there, but there was still no sign of him. Their usual spot was quiet and he didn't think that Blaine would be hiding in the shadows somewhere. He knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep until he heard from him.

 

Once more he unlocked his phone, tapping away to see if a voice mail had been left since he last checked.

 

Nothing.

 

Any chance Kurt had of controlling his temper was long gone, if he saw either Cooper or Sue anytime soon he wouldn't be responsible for anything he did. He was worried about Blaine, nothing else mattered.

 

Altering his path to take the long way home, Kurt started looking for his boy.

 

* * *

 

Blaine was cold and tired but, strangely enough, not hungry at all. His stomach was curled up into tight knots and he just couldn't make the pain go away. There was an ache, fortunately it was dull, like he had run too long or walked too far and he couldn't shake the fog surrounding his mind.

 

His eyes were blurred from his prolonged tears and he curled around his worn teddy bear, huddled into the big cement drum in the playground. It was marginally warmer than outside and at least he was blocked from the wind that was blowing. He didn't want to see anyone, or being around anyone, he didn't want the false sympathy or angry words tossed his way. He wrapped his arms tighter around his bear and wiped his tears on Kurt's t-shirt.

 

Burying his nose into the soft cotton, Blaine sniffled, searching for his scent.  _Oh, Kurt…_

 

Fresh tears soaked into the material and Blaine rocked back and forth, trying to comfort himself.

 

_Please be safe, please be safe, please let him be safe._

 

Blaine repeated his mantra long into the night, never letting go of Kurt's t-shirt.

 

* * *

 

It was long past midnight when Kurt finally had to give up for the night. In fact it was almost two thirty in the morning when he realised he needed to get home. He'd searched everywhere he could think of, just hoping for some sign Blaine had been there, but it was to no avail.

 

He called Blaine's phone almost every half an hour hoping he would answer, just once, but every time it went to voicemail.

 

Kurt trudged through his front door, two dogs trailing behind him, completely dejected. He had no idea where else Blaine could be. He'd gone past his house more than once in the hope he would see two figures, not just one. His only hope was that maybe Blaine had gone to stay with Tina or Sam but he had no idea where the two teens lived. He knew it was an abuse of his power but he had to know for sure. He loaded up the information database on his laptop after using the IP address of his school computer to download the files kept there. After a quick surge he grabbed his car keys again and headed out one more time.

 

* * *

 

 

It was three ten in the morning when he passed the Cohen-Chang's house and, as he figured, all their lights were out. The lights were on at Sam's house and he could hear the television as well so Kurt decided to park his car and take a look around. There was a man asleep in a recliner chair in the front room, a stack of papers next to him and Kurt could only assume it was Sam's father. No-one else was awake although there was a light on in the basement. Kurt knelt down to get a closer look and saw Sam sleeping on a fold out couch, no-one else to be seen.

 

So Blaine wasn't there either.

 

He was at a loss. He had no idea where else Blaine could be.  _God, sweetheart. Where are you?_

 

He begged whoever was listening just to make sure Blaine was safe and to bring him, and the Baby, home in one piece.


	26. Chapter Twenty Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your lovely comments, I know this took a little longer and we're still in sad territory but never fear! (or maybe fear, who knows?) I'm a little busy this weekend but I'll get to the next chapter at the beginning of next week so *fingers crossed* for another update next week :) (I'm looking at around 38ish chapters now!)

Blaine wasn’t in his first period class and Sam hadn’t heard from him at all. Usually Blaine sent a quick text in the morning if he was going to be late, so Sam would know to save him a seat. Tina had told Sam that morning that Cooper had called her the night before about where Blaine was and after Sam telling Tina before school started that she _really_ hadn’t seen Blaine. The friends began to get worried.

 

Tina was adding up the facts in her head and she really didn’t like the outcome. Her best friend was missing; Tina didn’t know the first thing about the guy Blaine had met and all Tina had was a cryptic, weepy, message on her phone.

 

After asking around, as much as possible, she found out that Blaine had been suspended yesterday by Coach Sylvester  and a quick lie to the admin office that a teacher had asked Tina to get a copy of the order signed by Sue yesterday gave Tina a copy of the document. Although now she had it she wasn’t sure what to do with it.

 

Had Blaine run away with his new boyfriend?

 

 

Kurt hadn’t slept much at all, in fact, he had fallen asleep on his sofa with his phone clutched in one hand just hoping Blaine would call him, like he had last time, and Kurt would be able to go and pick him up from wherever it was he had gone.

 

He’d go to Timbuktu if that’s where he was.

 

Las Vegas

 

Scotland

 

He’d follow that boy anywhere if it meant keeping him safe. But his phone hadn’t run and his battery was almost dead. He went through the motions of getting ready for work, idly, nothing the dark circle under his eyes but choosing to ignore them. All his hopes were pinned on Blaine staying with Tina’s.

 

 

* * *

 

 

He was just cold.

 

Cement was good for blocking out the wind but it did nothing to help Blaine keep his body heat. His back was sore and his ass ached from hours spent sitting in an awkward position. He’d been too afraid to lie down in case someone was to come along and find him so he’d spent most of the night just crouched in the tunnel, his head resting against the hard wall.

 

Blaine awoke with tears in his eyes and a pressing need to pee. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon and it would be too early for the bathrooms in the public park to be open but he remembered seeing a diner on his way to the park and wondered if he would be able to sneak in and use their restroom.

 

Stumbling and tripping over his own, cold, feet Blaine scuttled out of his tunnel making a decision that he wouldn’t been sleeping there again, not if he could help it.

 

Waiting carefully beside the café Blaine noted it was the one that Tina had taken him too just before Christmas. He watched people shuffling in and out before sneaking in behind an elderly couple and heading straight for their bathroom. The warm smell of freshly disinfected tiles coupled with the, seemingly constant, nausea almost crippled Blaine when he opened the door. The need to use the bathroom was immediately replaced with the urge to throw up and he barely made it through the first stall before the cramping started.

 

He hadn’t eaten much the day before, managing to grab a banana before the fight with Cooper had started, and his stomach was completely void of anything nourishing. Green bile hit the back of his throat and Blaine gagged, trying to hold back, but the urge to let it out was stronger.

 

Tears dripped down his cold cheeks and he hiccuped a few times trying to get some air. He slumped down onto the floor, head resting against the cold steel of the door behind him, and feeling so tired and run down. All he wanted was Kurt and warmth.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Tina had been stopping herself from saying something to Sam all morning but he was practically attached to Santana for the entirety of their lunch break so she soon made up her mind on that decision. She didn’t want word of anything getting out in the school, especially to people she couldn’t trust. Tina really wasn’t sure which side of the fence Santana stood on, she had been nice enough to Blaine when some of the harsher comments flew at him but the information Tina held was a little more sensitive than just standing up for someone. Blaine wasn’t at school and Cooper had called her but that didn’t mean that Blaine didn’t just skip going home last night and was now asleep in his own bed, safe.

 

Tina hoped that’s where Blaine was, she didn’t want to think of Blaine running away with the new guy he had spoken about. Blaine might love him but that didn’t mean he was safe. Biting on her lower lip, Tina walked to Mr Hummel’s classroom when his voice caught her attention. It was clear he was agitated about something, he kept pulling at the end of his shirt sleeves and gesturing wilding with his other hand in Ms Berry’s face. A small part of Tina hoped they were talking about Blaine and worrying too but she knew that was futile since she was the only one that knew Blaine was possibly missing. Even Cooper thought Blaine was staying at her house.

 

Quietly she slipped inside the classroom and took her normal seat in the back of the room trying desperately not to look at the empty desk next to her, the one Blaine normally occupied.

 

* * *

 

 

Kurt spied the familiar figure of Tina making her way through the hallways and heading for his classroom and he reminded himself to find out what, if anything, she knew but at that moment he was focussed on his conversation with Rachel who was detailing, for him, what she had observed of Blaine’s physical condition when Sue had suspended him. Kurt had been too angry to take in anything Rachel had said to him at the bar the night before but now he knew he needed to collect every bit of information possible.

 

 

Bruise left cheek, dark marks on his lower arm and around his right wrist, teary-eyed and visibly upset.

 

It sounded to him that the confrontation between Blaine and his older brother had reached the point of no return. Somehow he didn’t think Blaine's wishes or wants in the matter of the Smythe’s money had been taken into consideration. Kurt was able to see both of their points. His own opinion sided more with Cooper but for completely different reasons. He wanted Sebastian out of Blaine’s life, he didn’t was Blaine or the baby to have any ties at all to the other boy but he doubted Blaine would be ready to hear Kurt’s reasons why.

 

Kurt wanted them both, completely, he wanted them both to have his name and be his family. The baby was Blaine’s and even though science would say that the other half was Sebastian’s, Kurt’s heart said they were both his, he just had to convince Blaine of that.

 

Nodding absentmindedly at something Rachel had said, Kurt waved her off and headed into his classroom. He was determined that before the day was out he would find out if Tina knew anything. He had barely closed the door to his room when he spoke out over the low rumble of conversation.

 

“Miss Cohen-Chang, please see me after class.”

 

Tina looked up in shock; her eyes glittered with confusion when she saw the fierce look on her teacher’s face.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The sound of a door opening and the shuffling of feet roused Blaine from the fitful sleep he had fallen in to. For a long moment Blaine had no idea where he was, his eyes wild and scared before taking in the industrial green door and the glaring white tiles. _Bathroom._ He climbed to his feet, stretching, trying to work out the sore and stiffness of his body. He ached all over, the cold seeping into his bones and settling into his stomach. He pushed the door open and faced his reflection in the mirror; dark circles already clear on his skin. He ignored everything else that indicated the predicament he had put himself in to focus on his eyes. They looked tired, dull and old.

 

A deep sigh escaped him and he ducked his head down, not wanting to face his image any longer. He made a cup with his hands and used the tap water to clear his face and he drunk some of it down, crossing his fingers than the cramping in his stomach wouldn’t start up again. When the pain didn’t come a smile crept across Blaine’s face.

 

_Well, that’s something. How about we try some food now, Baby?_

He dug deep in his pockets and scrounged up twenty two dollars. That would be more than enough for something light, like soup, and possibly something warm to drink as well. Blaine made a plan for the morning, get something to eat and then try and find somewhere warmer to sleep.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Yes, Mr Hummel?” Tina stood away from her teacher’s desk, her books clutched tightly to her chest and confusion still littering her eyes.

 

Kurt looked up at his student from his chair, unsure how he was going to approach this, he knew the two were friends and if Blaine had confided in anyone it would be the petite Asian in front of him, it was just a matter of how much Tina knew now. Kurt wanted to play the whole situation as cool as possible but he was sure it would all backfire on him at any given moment. He gestured to one of the desks.

 

“Have a seat, please.”

 

“Will this take long? I have a class this period.” Tina raised one eyebrow, more concerned that she would be in trouble twice if she was late to her next class.

 

“I can write you a pass.” Kurt stood up from his chair, unable to remain seated any longer. “Yesterday Principal Sylvester suspended Mr Anderson. Mr Anderson and I have a tutoring arrangement and he didn’t turn up. Have you spoken to him at all since yesterday?”

 

Kurt was the worst liar and he knew it. He had long given up trying to lie because he just wasn’t able to do it convincingly enough but apparently he had managed it well enough this time because Tina furrowed her brows in concentration.

 

“He left me a voice mail but I can’t understand what he’s saying. It’s really weird because Cooper, his brother, called me as well asking if I’d seen Blaine and when I said no it didn’t really seem like he believed me. Maybe I should have faked an accent or something…”

 

“Faked an accent? How would that have helped?” Kurt stared at her, complete confusion and disbelief on his face.

 

“The face you have? I bet that’s the face Cooper pulled. I haven’t seen Blaine and I haven’t spoken to him. I wish I had because I don’t know where he is. He’s not at my house and Sam hasn’t mentioned him being at his. I don’t know where Blaine is or his new boyfriend and I don’t even know who he is because Blaine wouldn’t even tell me his name and it’s possible that they ran away together because he told me he really loves him and if they ran away where would they have gone and why hasn’t Blaine called _me_?”

 

The more and more Tina talked the more high pitched she became and Kurt swore she didn’t breathe once throughout her entire spiel. Kurt tried to keep his expression as indifferent as possible, Tina knew some things just not everything. Blaine hadn’t told Tina his name or anything else that would indicate him being Blaine’s boyfriend.

 

“Tina, what did Blaine say in his message?” He needed to know what he had said and how much Blaine had explained to Tina before he jumped in with both feet.

 

“You listen.” Tina pulled her phone from the front pouch of her bag and swiped a finger across the screen a couple of times before holding it out to him. “Tap three, I saved the message, and just listen.”

 

Kurt stared at her, almost hesitant to listen to his boyfriend’s voice in front of his student but before he had time to really think it through he had tapped three and Blaine’s tear filled voice sounded in his ear.

 

_“T? I know you’re not there… but… I can’t, I’m so sorry. Please tell him I’m sorry. Coop completely went bananas and Coach Sue and… He can’t lose his job… I’m going… I’ll call you and let you know I’m okay as soon as I… know. Maybe, figure out where… I love you Lady.”_

 

It took all of Kurt willpower to not fling the phone or crush it’s case in his hand. His foot was connecting with of the chair before he could even stop it and the sound of it hitting the wall brought him back to himself. He was standing in the middle of his classroom, his chest heaving and his hands clenched, and he turned when Tina gasped

 

Tina had never seen Mr Hummel react like that to anything, not even to Quinn. Tina just stared at her teacher, wide eyed, her hand covering her mouth and unable to get a coherent thought in her head. “Oh my… Oh, wow.”

 

Kurt’s smile was wry and sarcastic as he realised he had completely over-reacted, he waited, not looking at Tina and just breathing trying to get his breathing under control.

 

 

The silence stretched out between them neither one of them sure how to breach it. Tina was barely breathing, her mind swirling with hundreds of thoughts and thousands of questions but unable to voice any of them. At the other end of the room Kurt was unable to stop the tremors coursing through his body, he had put Tina’s phone on a desk next to him so he could flex his fingers in and out of fists. He knew he had lost it and blown his cover regarding his involvement with Blaine. He blew out a breath, waiting for Tina to say something.

 

“Mr Hummel?” She finally found her voice, the question sounding so timid against the harsh breathing he was still trying to control.

 

“Yes?” He finally turned his gaze on his student, eyes blazing with supressed rage and concern.

 

“Blaine didn’t run away with his new boyfriend, did he?” Tina was shaking her head, answering her own question, an odd expression on her face. “Blaine… He was talking about you?”

 

He sighed and just nodded his head once, without saying a word.

 

“You gave him the necklace?”

 

Again he nodded, confirming her guess.

 

“So…so…um…”

 

“Tina, I was up all night looking for him, so can we not…” He caught a glimpse of Tina’s expression and relented a bit. “I tried looking for him as soon as I heard about what happened yesterday. Has he tried calling you since then?”

 

“Nothing.” Tina watched him pace around, his hands fisted in his pockets. “Mr Hummel? Have you talked to his brother?”

 

“Cooper? No, Ms Berry called him to tell him about the suspension and that was it.” Wondering just how much Tina knew, he asked.

“Did Blaine say anything to you about Sebastian?”

 

“Um. Well, before or after we dumped all of his stuff on his front lawn?”

 

His head snapped up to look at her and he fought a grin. “He told me about that. Must‘ve been quite a sight, poor Sebastian standing out in the middle of the street.” He chuckled and then sobered immediately. “But, no, that’s not what I’m asking.”

 

“You mean the money they offered?” Tina shook her head unhappily, then continued. “I don’t know much. He wouldn’t tell me about all of it. I know Cooper wasn’t happy about what Blaine was doing. I heard them fighting about it on Christmas morning, but Blaine never really wanted to talk about it, so I didn’t…I guess I should have asked.”

 

He shook his head  understanding pretty much why Blaine hadn’t really told Tina everything. “Wasn’t an easy situation with them. Stubborn as anything, the both of them.”

 

“So where did you look for him?”

 

“Play park, school grounds. I drove passed yours and Sam Evans house early this morning. I don’t know where else to look.” He leant back against a desk, his feet crossed at the ankles, watching her intently.

 

“Play park? Why’d you look there?” Her face was scrunched up in distaste and he almost laughed.

 

“It’s the only place we can meet without anyone spying something they shouldn’t. Was the first place…” Thinking better of continuing that thought out loud, Kurt changed the subject. “Yeah, so…I looked there. Any ideas where else he might have gone to?”

 

Tina shook her head. “Why didn’t he… You guys are… He knows he can go to you and no one would figure out where he was but he didn’t.”

 

It took him a minute to figure out what Tina was trying to say and he too was at a loss. “I have no idea. What did he mean about losing my job? What is that all about?”

 

“I don’t know.” Tina shrugged. “Did someone…does anyone else know about you guys?”

 

“No. Well, just a friend of mine, but only the four of us.” Kurt was wracking his brains trying to figure out what was in Blaine’s head and why he would be worried about him losing his job. “Hold on a second.”

 

He pulled his own phone from his pocket and quickly scrolled through his address book for Dave’s number. He waited, tapping his foot, until Dave answered and Tina listened to the one sided conversation her mouth falling open slightly.

 

“David. I need Liam’s help.” There was a silence. “Yes, it’s about him. He’s gone missing. Dave… Please?” Kurt tried to smile reassuringly at Tina but it never reached his eyes. He grabbed for a pen but couldn’t find one so instead picked up a whiteboard pen and started writing on his board. “Yep. No, that’s him. Right. Wow, maybe you’ll do. I’m listening. I promise.”

 

The words on the board had Tina staring in disbelief. Whoever Mr Hummel was talking to knew a lot more about the situation than she did. There was a lot of scribbles across the board, names, a sketch of a map and a roughly drawn sketch of Blaine smiling.

 

“Yes. Right. No, don’t bother him. I’ve got what I need. I’ll find him. Soon as I… Yes, the minute I find him.”

 

Tina stared, her eyes darting between the board and the sketch. It was long minutes before she realised that he’d stopped speaking and was just staring at the rough drawing of Blaine’s face. Tina was afraid to ask, afraid to break into the cocoon of silence surrounding him. She realised as she watched that his feelings for Blaine were much deeper than she had originally thought. It was clear his emotions were just as strong as her best friends.

 

“Can you… Copy the names down.” Was all Kurt said without turning around to look at Tina, his eyes never leaving the drawing and he spoke so softly, almost too low for Tina to hear.

 

“Where are you, sweetheart? Need you to come home.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Dave sighed as he hung up the phone on his oldest friend. He knew after the cards Liam had left on Christmas day that things were going to get rough for Kurt but he hadn’t expected this at all. He sounded so lost. He read the email he had received from the local police department head again and climbed to his feet. Maybe there were more answers to be found, Kurt be damned he was getting Liam involved in this. If anyone could find Kurt some sunshine, it would be his husband.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“I copied everything down.”

 

It took him long minutes to answer, but Tina waited patiently, her eyes on his profile.

 

“Yeah.” Kurt reached out a hand, his fingers tracing over the lines on the board, hovering over the image staring back at him. “David… My friend. He… An English teacher in Connecticut was arrested for sleeping with three of his students” He paused, not looking at Tina but knowing he had her full attention. “I think Blaine thought it had something to do with us.”

 

 

“Oh, my God.” He was standing so still that Tina thought for a moment that he’d stopped breathing, but then he sighed deeply and she knew it was just a trick of her mind. “He thought it was you, so that’s why he ran away.”

 

“That’s what I think. I just wish he hadn’t panicked.” The dejection in his voice forced her to move closer and rest her hand on his forearm.

 

“He’s going to come back. We’ll find him or something…but he will come back.”

 

“I hope you’re right. I’m not sure if I can do without him now.” Savagely he brushed his hand over the simple drawing, erasing the image from the board. Moving away from where Tina was standing, he finally found the pen he’d been looking for earlier and quickly wrote the promised note to Tina. “Here. Go on to class.”

 

She took it, staring down at it for a moment. “If he calls me, I’ll come right to you.”

 

He didn’t speak, didn’t even watch as she gathered up her things and left his classroom.


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pleeeease, read the note at the end!

He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he’d had a decent meal but Blaine thought it must have been at least a couple of days. He just couldn’t remember, everything had started to blur in to one long nightmare that just seemed never-ending. Waking, sleeping, nothing made much sense anymore. He had woken up that morning behind an office building in an alley that had luckily been sheltered by some clear plastic where two buildings met. Two days ago, or at least he thought it was two days ago, it might have been three, he’d found a pawn shop and sold everything he had grabbed from the box in Cooper’s room. The only thing he kept was the necklace Kurt had given him for Christmas. Everything sold and it still wasn’t enough to get him out of Ohio and into Lakeodwod. He thought about going over to Westerville but he wanted no reminders of his family. Fresh start, new city.

 

Someplace new, somewhere no-one would know who he was, who Sebastian was or Kurt, so he could just keep on dreaming the baby was Kurt’s and they had to separate because of something… Anything but what was really keeping them apart.

 

Blaine rested his head against the wall, his eyes staring down at the small pile of money in his lap. Selling everything he could hadn’t amounted to a whole lot of money. He had one hundred and fifty five dollars and eight seven cents. The ticket to Lakewood was  seventy seven dollars so that didn’t leave him much left over to find food and maybe some place to stay for a little while. Blaine knew today he had to eat because he hadn’t the day before. He was trying to ration his intake of food, only eating when he was really, really hungry and he never went anywhere but the café where the old people were. It was the cheapest place he could find and the food was always warm. He knew none of his friends would go there. Tina had only taken him there when they skipped class because of that fact. Blaine didn’t want to see anyone.  He only wanted Kurt, the one person he couldn’t have.

 

Blaine pulled up his legs and clasped his hands in front of his knees, allowing his head to fall down on them. The ache of missing Kurt got worse and worse every day, every hour. Tears that were never very far away sprang to his eyes once more and leaked down his cheeks, wetting the denim of his jeans beneath his face.  Every time Blaine thought about Kurt, his heart hurt a little more. He was sure by now that he would have been released from custody, he must have posted bail somehow and that he was safe in his house but Blaine couldn’t make himself walk past it to make sure of that face. He couldn’t face it if Kurt wasn’t there, if he was still in jail.

 

Blaine felt a part of him was missing with Kurt but a bigger portion of him believed the reason Kurt was there was because of him. It was his entire fault; if Blaine hadn’t been so emotional clingy and needed Kurt then he would have been safe. He would still have his job and his life and he wouldn’t be suffering the consequences of being with a seventeen year old runaway.

 

A sudden noise by the front of the building told Blaine it was time for him to leave and go sit in the diner with some breakfast. After that he’d figure out what to do about leaving Lima for good.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Kurt had spent every night since Blaine had disappeared looking for hum. Quartering the small town in endless circles, his knowledge of the place he called home had grown considerably because of his surveillance. He knew every approach to the schools and their playgrounds, knew alleyways and empty buildings, abandoned warehouses and newly built homes and yet for as well as he knew those places, none of them held what he was looking for.

 

Kurt had sketched Blaine’s likeness onto a piece of paper that he carried with him wherever he went, unwilling to give up his search until he found him. Most nights he flashed the sketch to some of the homeless he went past but there were times when he didn’t run into another living soul. A couple of nights Tina had joined him but the majority of the time he was alone and that suited him. He felt a bit uncomfortable having Tina with him and being compelled to carry on conversations with her. It was a lot easier on him when she dragged Sam out with her and they went separate ways.

 

Two nights after they had figured out why Blaine had run away Tina had broken down and told Sam part of what had happened to their friend. That Sue had suspended Blaine and he had run away from his own reasons. Sam’s reaction had been eerily similar to Kurt’s and whilst that confused the girl a little she was happy that there was another pair of eyes looking for Blaine. The one thing Tina had kept from Sam was the nature of Blaine and their teacher’s relationship. Kurt had insisted upon it.

 

Kurt was making his way slowly through the playpark, the place he started and ended every search hoping to find some evidence that Blaine had been there recently. He turned to make his circles back when something caught his eye by one of the swing sets. It wasn’t much of anything really. Just a small piece of paper, ragged and obviously ripped from a notebook.

 

Kurt stared down at it when a sudden breeze almost blew it away, he brought his shoe down upon it and had no idea how long he stared at the top of his shoes before his cell phone began to ring. He sighed before tapping the green icon to answer the call.

 

“Kurt Hummel.”

 

“Mr Hummel… You… I got a voicemail. He called a little while ago. Where are you?”

 

He nearly dropped the phone when Tina’s stammered words registered. “The play park. West side. Where are you?”

 

“At home. I was in the bathroom getting ready to leave when he called. I missed it and I’m so sorry but it was him and he’s not far but I didn’t know” Tina couldn’t stop the rush of words from her mouth until her teacher’s voice halted her.

 

“Tina! Breathe, please. Meet me at the front gates in about ten minutes, okay?” He was already on his way there, his strides eating up the distance, when the memory of the piece of notebook paper flashed in his head. He turned round and grabbed for it, looking down at the words. “He’s been here too. Found something.”

 

He locked his phone and made another quick circle of the area before heading to the front gate.

 

* * *

 

 

 

She was going to have to tell him. The pressure of dealing with Blaine’s disappearance and everything else was becoming too much for her to handle. She was absolutely certain her mind would explode soon and then there would be a search party out looking for her too. She called out a goodbye to her oblivious parents and jogged out the front door to meet Mr Hummel.

 

 

He was standing between two streetlamps under the ornate sign identifying the entrance to the park. His eyes watching the shadows when Tina finally raced up, without a word of greeting Tina gave him the phone and he quickly tapped in the voicemail number her knew from the first message.

 

Blaine’s voice filled his ears and Kurt was hard pressed to supress his tears.

 

“Hey, lady. I just wanted to let you know… I’m still okay. Just trying to figure out where to go. Someplace where me and Baby… God. I bet you know by now, about me and Kurt. Mr Hummel. I really didn’t mean to hurt him. I meant it when I said I loved him. I  _do._  Love him, so much. Everything just hurts… T…”

 

The tears he had been trying to supress stood out in his blue eyes and he wiped them away furiously. Tina just stared at the older man, stunned, she had never seen a grown man cry like that.

 

“Cooper’s been calling me. He…” Tina hesitated unsure about whether to continue when he didn’t react to her voice. “He doesn’t believe me. He thinks I’m hiding Blaine and Blaine still isn’t answering his phone which is just making everything worse.”

 

Kurt finally reacted to that. “I think he’s hiding, like he’s scared of finding out how bad things are. I just don’t know what to think anymore.” Kurt stared down at the piece of paper in his hand. “Ten days. I’m just… God. I don’t know what to do.” His voice trailed off and he made no effort to hide the tears falling from his eyes.

 

Curling his fingers into a tight fist, Kurt pushed away from the gate. “Go home, Tina, I’m going to keep looking.”

 

Shaking her head in defiance of his command, Tina trailed after him. “I think I have an idea.”

 

“Okay, what is it?” He walked ahead of the girl, his head down and watching the pavement go by underneath his feet.

 

“Before Christmas, Blaine and I went to this little café. He seemed to like to watch the old people and, hey, boys gotta eat. Maybe they’ve seen him at some point?”

 

He stole a quick glance down at her and he caught a glimpse of the very hopeful expression on her face. Kurt didn’t have the heart to squash her enthusiasm, since his spirits were at a very dangerously low point. Why did he call Tina and not him? Was he afraid of him rejecting her? What was…  _Why is he so afraid to call me?_

 

“It’s not going to hurt to try.” His tone was devoid of any hope at all, believing that Tina’s hunch would just lead to another dead end and another sleepless night. Kurt fought new tears, his own worries overwhelming him, drowning his thoughts.

 

They were quiet on the rest of the walk, each one of them wrapped up in their own thoughts. Tina was certain Blaine had been in this diner, she knew it with a certainty that was nearly chilling in its intensity.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Not surprisingly, the place was nearly empty, only a couple of people sitting in booths and a few of the staff hanging around. Tina tugged him toward one of the waitresses, babbling a bit at him, urging him to take the sketch out and show it around. Giving in to her high pitched demands, Kurt handed over the drawing, still fully convinced this was just another dead-end.

 

“Yeah. He’s usually in during the morning.” Glancing down at the worn paper in her hands, the dyed blonde snapped her gum and called out to one of her co-workers. “Trace! C’mere and take a look at this.”

 

The aforementioned ‘Trace’ came over, trailed by one of the busboys, and both of them nodded their agreement. “He was here this morning.”

 

“No. It was after lunch today.” the busboy corrected her in broken English, his accent making it difficult to understand him. “He come in today when I was coming to work.”

 

Tina beamed at them, gratitude lighting her features. “See? I knew he would be in here. I knew it! Thank you so much.”

 

Finally finding his voice, Kurt asked, “Any ideas where he might be staying?”

 

The three shared a look, and before they could hesitate, Kurt continued, “He’s been missing for ten days. He’s my…He’s…I just need to find him, so anything you can tell me would be a help.”

 

Tracey shared a look with the busboy and she shrugged. “He’s been in a couple of times lately. Always looks like he’s been crying and he always orders soup and hot chocolate.”

 

The busboy broke in, saying, “He get sick a lot. Puke, puke.”

 

“Yeah, he’s pregnant.” Kurt had heard enough. “Look, he’s my boyfriend. He thinks that I’ve been arrested for something stupid and he thinks it’s because of him, so he ran. I need to find him.”

 

Grabbing a pad from one of the girls, Kurt wrote down his cell phone number “If you see him…please. Call me. Don’t say anything to him, just call me.”

 

Sceptical looks met his request but Tina just added in her assurances. “All true. Long story but his first boyfriend dumped him when he told him he was pregnant and Kurt and Blaine fell in love and it’s definitely love, he goes out every night looking for him and Blaine’s just nuts for running away.”

 

Glancing at the faces ranged about her, Tina realised she was babbling and stopped. “I’m sorry. I get like that when I’m nervous. Just…please call. Or hey, you can call me.” Tina snatched the pen and pad from Kurt’s hands and wrote down her name and number. “There. Please?”

 

The first waitress shared a look with her co-workers and then said, “If we see him, one of us will call you.”

 

“Thank you.” Kurt almost couldn’t speak, the emotions closing his throat. He was so close, so close, Blaine had been there today. He was still in Lima. The need to find him and bring him home was clawing in his guts, almost twisting them till he felt the physical pain.

 

“Tina, let’s get you home.” Guiding her out of the door, Kurt headed straight for her house, eager for once to continue the search. He had something to go on… A sign. A glimmer of hope, which had been all he’d needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, here's the tricky part. My laptop basically hates this site for some reason and so I've made the decision to keep this up here although updates will only be on FF and then once I've completed the story over there I will then update allllll of this to match (I know some of you really don't like FF but that's the way my laptop feels about this place!)
> 
> I hope this just means you'll pop on over to FF to keep reading but if not, I WILL complete the story on here too. Just in one big lump!
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


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